MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed China’s visiting leader Xi Jinping in an official ceremony in the St. George’s Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace on Tuesday afternoon.
Xi arrived at the main entrance and walked up to the second floor along the main stairway, with a guard of honor on both sides. Putin and Xi greeted each other. The orchestra played the national anthems of Russia and China. Members of the delegations from both countries were present at the ceremony.
The leaders proceeded to the Catherine Hall for talks. Later, negotiations will continue in the Alexander Hall with other delegates taking part. The signing of documents will take place in the Malachite Foyer. The leaders will also issue a joint statement. The program will end with a state dinner at the Palace of Facets.
Xi is in Russia on a state visit on March 20-22. On Monday, he had an informal one-on-one meeting with Putin in the Kremlin, which lasted about 4.5 hours.
The Russian delegation includes Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov, deputy prime ministers Denis Manturov, Dmitry Chernyshenko, Tatyana Golikova, Alexander Novak, Yury Trutnev, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev, head of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, and presidential aides Yury Ushakov and Maxim Oreshkin.
Source: TASS