(Belgium) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping meet at the opening of the Winter Games in Beijing in early February. Moscow announced it. “We are preparing an official Russia-China summit,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced at a press conference.
It will not be just a meeting between the two heads of state, but Lavrov talks about “large-scale negotiations at the highest level” between the two governments. This conversation between two of the world’s most powerful politicians contrasts sharply with the diplomatic boycott of the Games by the US, UK and Australia, among others. Washington referred to the “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” referring to the repression of Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities. Top politicians from those countries do not travel to China, but their athletes can participate in the competition. Russia, as a country, cannot participate in these Winter Games due to the government’s role in the major doping scandal. Russian athletes can participate, under the neutral flag of the Russian Olympic Committee. (Belgium)
It will not be just a meeting between the two heads of state, but Lavrov talks about “large-scale negotiations at the highest level” between the two governments. This conversation between two of the world’s most powerful politicians contrasts sharply with the diplomatic boycott of the Games by the US, UK and Australia, among others. Washington referred to the “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” referring to the repression of Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities. Top politicians from those countries do not travel to China, but their athletes can participate in the competition. Russia, as a country, cannot participate in these Winter Games due to the government’s role in the major doping scandal. Russian athletes can participate, under the neutral flag of the Russian Olympic Committee. (Belgium)