This was Vladimir Putin’s second visit to China since the start of the war in Ukraine.
China hosted its biggest diplomatic event this week: a summit celebrating the Belt and Road (BRI) project, a multibillion-dollar infrastructure project. President Xi Jinping opened the ceremony on Wednesday in the presence of several world leaders and more than a thousand delegates at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, sharing the stage with Vladimir Putin, who made a rare trip outside Russia – his first this year. But just before Putin’s speech, a number of people, including European delegates, left the summit.
Among those delegates was European Jean-Pierre Raffarin, former Prime Minister of France, Reuters news agency reported.
Videos from the event shows Mr Raffarin and other delegates leaving the Great Hall as Putin was due to deliver his speech after Mr Xi.
One of the clips also showed Putin, accompanied by his aides, carrying the so-called nuclear briefcase, which can be used to order a nuclear strike.
In his speech, Putin thanked the Chinese leader for his invitation and said Russia could play a key role in China’s modern revival of the ancient Silk Road.
“Russia and China, like most countries of the world, share the desire for equal, mutually beneficial cooperation to achieve universal sustainable economic progress and long-term social well-being, while respecting the diversity of civilization and rights of everyone. Follow its own development model,” the Russian president said.
He arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, only the second known foreign trip since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him in March over the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.
China is one of the few places where Putin cannot be arrested as the country is not an ICC state.
