MOSCOW, 20 Mar. (DPA/EP) -
Chinese President Xi Jinping, visiting Moscow, on Monday expressed his confidence that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, will win the presidential elections scheduled for March next year.
"I know that next year there are presidential elections in your country. Thanks to your strong leadership, Russia has made important progress in recent years in achieving prosperity," Xi said, according to the Russian press.
"I am convinced that the Russian people will support him in his good intentions," Xi added in a statement that has caught the attention of the Russian media because Putin has not yet confirmed whether he will stand for election.
Putin has not directly responded to Xi's words, although the Kremlin later denied that Xi had confirmed Putin will run for re-election.
"President Xi has not said that Putin is going to stand for election. President Xi has expressed his belief that the Russians support Putin and we can only share that conviction," Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov said.