Xi Jinping arrives in Russia. Putin visited Mariupol. Karen Donfried will step down. DAILY UPDATES
0Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Mariupol late on Saturday and overnight into Sunday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Sunday.
"It was late - late yesterday and last night in fact," he said when asked a respective question.
Putin also plans visits to a number of the country’s regions in coming 2-3 weeks, Peskov added.
"The president has plans to visit regions in coming 2-3 weeks," he said.
Putin will give instructions on solving the issues of Mariupol residents that he was told about, Peskov told TASS on Sunday.
"When speaking with President Mariupol residents raised issues related to pay pauses, registration of the Russian citizenship and Russian passports. President will give instructions to tackle those issues," he said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Russia on Monday for a state visit, a TASS correspondent reported.
The Chinese leader's plane landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport around 12:59 Moscow time.
According to TASS, the Chinese Hongqi (Red Banner) car waits for the country’s president outside the airport.
Xi Jinping's state visit to Russia will last from March 20 to 22. The Russian Federation is the first country the Chinese leader has visited since his March 10 reelection to a third term by the National People's Congress (parliament). According to diplomatic protocol, state visit is the highest in the gradation of foreign visits.
New tests of relations between Turkey and Russia when the opposition comes to power in Ankara are unlikely. The corresponding statement was made by the candidate for the presidency of Turkey Kemal Kiliçdaroglu.
According to him, Russia and Turkey should enjoy mutual trust and not interfere in each other’s internal affairs.
Kılıçdaroglu noted that Russia is an important partner of Turkey and its neighbor.
“I believe that on the basis of mutual respect there will be no reasons for changing positions. On the contrary, instead of new tests, these positions, I believe, will be strengthened“, he added.
Speaking on the conflict on the territory of Ukraine, the opponent of the current Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the opposition will not support the special operation of the Russian Federation, but will continue to insist to resolve the situation, in particular through the mediation of Ankara.
Syrian President Bashar al Assad arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday for an official visit, accompanied by his wife Asma al Assad, at a time when more Arab states have signalled openness to easing the isolation of Damascus, Reuters reports.
The visit was marked with more ceremony than his previous trip to the UAE last year, which had been his first to an Arab state since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, when Gulf states including the UAE backed rebels fighting to overthrow Assad.
"We held constructive talks aimed at developing relations between our two countries," Sheikh Mohammed later said in a Twitter post. "Our discussions also explored ways of enhancing cooperation to accelerate stability and progress in Syria and the region."
The Syrian presidency said Asma al Assad, on her first known official visit abroad with Assad since 2011, would meet with Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak who is the Emirati president's mother and regarded in the UAE as the "Mother of the Nation".
Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia, which recently reached an agreement with rival Iran to restore bilateral ties, has opened the door for possible dialogue with Damascus especially on humanitarian issues, saying Arab consensus was building that isolating Syria was not working.