Russia values relations with China, says Kremlin

Moscow, Aug 29 (PTI) Russia values its relations with China, the Kremlin said on Friday ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the country to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

Putin, who will also attend festivities to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II in China, will embark on his visit on Sunday.

“These are relations of a special, privileged strategic partnership, and we value these relations. The scale of these relations is hard to overestimate now,” the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, while speaking on the relations with China.

The potential of Russian-Chinese relations remains largely untapped, a view shared by both Moscow and Beijing, Peskov said.

“Both we and our Chinese friends agree that the potential of our bilateral partnership is far from being fully unlocked,” Peskov said, noting that Putin’s visit to China beginning on Sunday is going to be “completely unprecedented”.

He said the Russian president is expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin.

According to local media, Putin, who is scheduled to visit India towards the end of this year, is also going to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in China. PTI VS SKS SKS RD RD