Russia says foreign minister Lavrov to meet China’s Wang soon

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will soon meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

At the meeting, Lavrov and Wang will discuss Ukraine and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, among other issues, Zakharova told a weekly briefing.

The meeting could lay the groundwork for a trip to China that Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to make in May. Five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last month that Putin would hold talks there with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in what could be the Kremlin chief’s first overseas trip of his new six-year presidential term.