Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit China in October, Kremlin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit China in October, a top Kremlin official announced on July 25, 2023.

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit China in October, a top Kremlin official announced Tuesday.

Russian news agencies quoted Putin's foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov, as saying the trip will be timed to coincide with a “One Belt, One Road” forum in China.

Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative involves infrastructure projects to connect Asia with European and African countries.

Ushakov said Putin also plans to travel to Turkiye at some point to fulfil a promise to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, although the dates for that visit have not been decided yet.

In addition, the Kremin received an invitation for Putin to participate in a Group of 20 summit in India in September, he said. The Russian leader's in-person attendance has not been ruled out, although the format of Putin's participation is still “unclear”, Ushakov said.

The announcement of Putin's travel plans came days after South African officials said he had agreed to skip an economic summit in their country next month because of an arrest warrant the International Criminal Court issued against him. The ICC has accused Putin of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

As a signatory to the treaty that established the international court, South Africa would either be obligated to arrest the Russian leader if he set foot there or put in a position of flouting its responsibility.