Kremlin-No Timeframe For Putin-Xi Talks But 'Is Need For Meeting'

(MNI) London - Wires carrying comments from Kremlin spox Dmitri Peskov regarding China-Russia relations. On a possible visit from President Vladimir Putin to China for talks with President Xi Jinping, Peskov says that "We are not specifying a time frame yet", but that "There is a need for such a meeting". Says that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi "can be considered as preparation for high-level contacts".

• Following the Wang-Lavrov meeting Jakub Jakubowski, Deputy Director at the Center for Eastern Studies (OSW) in Poland, posts on X: "Lavrov in Beijing, two important takeaways: 1. Russia claims it convinced Beijing not to take part in Switzerland talks, a tactical win for Russia. 2. Lavrov claims that China-Russia started a dialogue on 'Eurasian security', that is a post-NATO/OSCE security architecture in Europe."
• Speculationover the past 24 hours is that Swizerland could seek to hold a Ukraine peace conference involving 80-100 nations on 16-17 June. A lack of involvement from Russia and China could deal the proposed conference a significant blow before the host city has even been named.