Top Chinese diplomat arrives in Moscow ahead of Witkoff's meeting with Putin
Photo: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (Getty Images)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Moscow for a visit and held talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. This comes on the same day that US special envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, according to pro-Kremlin media.
Meeting between Shoigu and China's Foreign Minister in Moscow
Foreign Minister Sergei Shoigu is holding talks today in Moscow with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi. According to Russia's Interfax, the sides are conducting "consultations on strategic security and military cooperation."
Formally, China's Foreign Minister is in Russia as part of the 20th round of Russian-Chinese strategic security consultations. Also, preparations are underway for the US delegation's talks with Putin.
US–Russia negotiations on the peace plan
The US delegation is already in Moscow. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner have already met with the Kremlin's special representative, Kirill Dmitriev.
Direct talks between the American delegation and Vladimir Putin on the peace plan are expected to begin soon.
Putin's signal to the West and China
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation notes that ahead of Witkoff's visit, the Kremlin leader is signaling that Russia is prepared to continue the war in 2026. This message is also directed at China.
"The key goal of Russia, it seems, is to ensure that the main pressure regarding the peace plan falls on Ukraine. That's why they are staging this cognitive show," wrote the Center’s head, Andriy Kovalenko.
Today in Moscow, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet with Vladimir Putin to discuss the latest version of the peace plan for ending Russia's war against Ukraine.
According to the Kremlin, there will be no one else in the American delegation except translators. Before traveling to Moscow, Witkoff and the Ukrainian delegation held lengthy talks in Geneva and Florida.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of the meeting that the latest version of the peace plan looks better and that he has received a detailed report from the Ukrainian delegation.
The US peace plan that Witkoff has been promoting this year initially consisted of 28 points and included concessions that Ukraine rejected, including reducing its armed forces, giving up Donbas, and abandoning NATO aspirations. After US-Ukrainian negotiations, the plan was preliminarily reduced to 19 points, taking into account Ukraine's interests, and will now be presented to the Russian side.
