Xi Jinping speaks with Putin by telephone.

CGTN – Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday afternoon (24), Beijing time.

Xi Jinping recalled that the two leaders held a video conference on the eve of the Chinese Spring Festival, in which they discussed plans and guidelines for the development of relations between the two countries.

Government departments on both sides are promoting cooperation in accordance with consensus, including holding commemorative activities for the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Anti-Fascist World War.

China-Russia relations possess a strong energy and unique strategic value, which are not directed against any third party nor influenced by third parties. China and Russia's development strategies and foreign policies are long-term, according to the Chinese president.

Regardless of how the international situation changes, China-Russia relations will advance steadily, contributing to each other's development and injecting stability and positive energy into international relations.

Putin said that developing relations with China is a strategic choice for Russia with a long-term perspective, which will not be affected by any temporary events or interference from external factors.

In the current situation, maintaining close communication between the two nations is aligned with the spirit of the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries in the new era, and also sends a positive signal that Russia and China play a stabilizing role in international affairs.

The Russian president presented the latest developments from contacts between Russia and the United States and the Russian position on the Ukrainian crisis. According to Putin, his government is committed to eliminating the root causes of the conflict in order to arrive at a sustainable and long-term peace plan.

Xi Jinping emphasized that, at the beginning of the general escalation of the crisis in Ukraine, he presented the "four duties" and other basic proposals to resolve the crisis. Last September, China and Brazil, along with some countries of the Global South, created the Friends for Peace Group on the Ukraine Crisis to promote an atmosphere and build favorable conditions for a political solution to the crisis, Xi Jinping noted.