Russian President Vladimir Putin smiled and waved enthusiastically to his Chinese counterpart during virtual talks on Tuesday.

Following Trump's inauguration, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin held a virtual meeting to strengthen bilateral relations between China and Russia.

Speaking with Putin in a video meeting, Xi called for coping with uncertainties of the external environment with the stability and resilience of China-Russia relations, jointly promoting the development and revitalization of the two countries, and upholding international fairness and justice.

President Donald Trump is threatening to impose stiff taxes, tariffs and sanctions on Russia if an agreement isn’t reached to end the war in Ukraine.

Russia wants the settlement to not be some kind of short-term truce but a long-term peace based on respect for our objective interests

The two leaders have developed strong personal ties that helped boost relations between Moscow and Beijing, growing even closer after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022.

The call between the two leaders came just after Trump’s return to office, signaling their intent to reinforce strategic cooperati

FILE PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping take part in an official welcoming ceremony for delegations' heads at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, 23 October 2024. MAXIM SHIPENKOV/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

He also said, however, that the call was "not connected with Trump's inauguration in any way". The call lasted about one-and-a-half hours, during which Putin and Xi also discussed

Chinese leader Xi Jinping may push Russian President Vladimir Putin towards peace, as Russia's economy heavily depends on China, states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Bloomberg.

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin via a video link on Tuesday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The talks came hours after US President Donald Trump returned to the White House and said he would meet Putin “very soon”.