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Putin to visit China in first foreign trip of his new presidential term — Kremlin aide

Yury Ushakov said at a briefing on Monday that the dates of Putin’s China visit would be announced in the near future

MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. No dates have been set yet for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s trip to Turkey but it will come after his visit to China, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov told TASS.

When asked if dates for Putin’s visit to Turkey had been set, he said: "No, not yet." "However, I am sure that it will come after China, because the president will visit China in the first foreign trip [of his new term in office]," Ushakov added.

The Russian presidential aide said at a briefing on Monday that the dates of Putin’s China visit would be announced in the near future. Ushakov added that it would be the president’s first foreign visit after his inauguration. "We promised this to the Chinese. The Chinese made such a proposal. This is kind of a response to President Xi Jinping’s first official visit [to Russia] that he made last year after his election," Ushakov emphasized.

"A trip to Turkey is on the agenda," the Kremlin aid went on to say. "Certainly, preparations for it are underway but no specific dates have been agreed yet, this I can tell you for sure."

Ushakov stressed that Putin’s visit to Turkey was a foreign policy priority. "We will very soon discuss the dates when Mr. [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan’s invitation could be implemented," he said.

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Foreign policy Vladimir Putin China

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