Russian President Vladimir Putin had warm words for "old friend" Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, describing their relationship in personal terms and dismissing the notion that the war in Ukraine had driven a Russian "pivot" toward the East Asian power.

President Vladimir Putin says Russia will strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over his showcase economic forum in his hometown of St.

At the St. Petersburg economic forum, business and political elites said Russia faced a choice of halting the conflict or sacrificing more. Vladimir Putin seemed to signal more war.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin rebuffed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call for a face-to-face meeting, saying there was “no point.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin says developing countries have gained an increasingly important role in the global economy, while the share of output by Western countries has shrunk.

After 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll,” President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine wrote of his Russian counterpart, bragging of a recent strike on St. Petersburg.

By Vladimir Soldatkin and Andrew Osborn ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he currently saw no reason to meet Volodymyr Zelenskiy after the Ukrainian president published an open letter proposing they hold face-to-face talks to agree an end to a war now in its fifth year.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is accusing Russia of choosing war over peace, after Russian President Putin rejected his request for an in-person meeting. Putin spoke at an annual economic forum in St.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed ties with Russia as a force for “calm amid chaos” during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday, days after Xi hosted President Donald Trump for a landmark US-China summit.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw the signing of over 40 cooperation agreements in trade, technology, and media on Wednesday and praised each other as friends.

Vladimir Putin landed in China on Tuesday to a warm welcome from his “dear friend” President Xi Jinping, but he arrived with the heavy burden of a war he increasingly seems unable to win.

Vladimir Putin on India: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that attempts to pressure India through sanctions under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have the opposite effect. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday (June 5,