Vladimir Putin meets Chinese defense minister in Moscow, Russia says

Beijing had announced Li's visit to Moscow last week, saying he would meet defense officials

 Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu in Moscow, Russia, April 16, 2023 (photo credit: Sputnik/Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS)
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu in Moscow, Russia, April 16, 2023
(photo credit: Sputnik/Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via REUTERS)

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu in Moscow on Sunday, Tass news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Beijing had announced Li's visit to Moscow last week, saying he would meet defense officials, but made no mention of a meeting with Putin.

Peskov told Tass that details of the meeting would be released later.

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Putin in Moscow last month.

 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a signing ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023 (credit: REUTERS)
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a signing ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia March 21, 2023 (credit: REUTERS)

Russia and China's "no limits" partnership

Russia and China have declared a "no limits" partnership and have moved to further strengthen their economic, political and military ties since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukrainian forces are finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, a senior official in Kyiv said on Friday. China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia.