No plans for Putin’s meetings with other guests at Beijing Olympics — Kremlin

MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin does not plan to hold bilateral meetings with other leaders who will attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games on February 4, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS, when asked if the Kremlin was receiving requests for meetings on the sidelines of the ceremony. "We have repeatedly said that the ceremony’s organizers have to impose a number of severe restrictions both on athletes and guests, including officials," Peskov noted. "So the Russian president’s schedule for the Beijing trip does not include any bilateral meetings for obvious reasons," he emphasized. In response to a question if Putin’s possible contacts with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky were under consideration as he was also expected to attend the opening ceremony, Peskov said that "there are no plans for such a meeting at the moment." "Although we can’t rule it out completely," the Kremlin spokesman added. "However, I would like to reiterate that there are no bilateral meetings on President Putin’s schedule, except for full-scale talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping," Peskov stressed. Putin is expected to make a visit to China on February 4. Read more