(Reuters)—Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the plan.
Xi's meeting with Putin will be part of a push for multi-party talks on peace in Ukraine and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used, the report added. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year.
Preparations for the trip at at an early stage and the timing has not been finalised, the WSJ said, adding that Xi could visit in April or in early May, when Russia celebrates its World War Two victory over Germany.
China's top diplomat Wang Yi arrived in Moscow on Tuesday as as the country appears to be ramping up its diplomatic effort to push for a peace settlement in Ukraine, and just hours after Putin announced Russia was suspending its participation in a landmark nuclear arms treaty with the United States.
Wang will likely discuss Xi's trip while he is in Moscow, WSJ said, quoting people familiar with the summit planning.
(Reporting by Juby Babu in Bengaluru; editing by Alex Richardson and Mark Heinrich)