Putin and Xi will visit each other for the 80th anniversary commemorations of the end of World War II

(AFP) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit each other this year to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany and the end of World War II, according to the head of Russian diplomacy.

"Xi Jinping will coincide his upcoming visit to Moscow with the solemn events in honor of the victory in the Great Patriotic War [Russian name given to World War II]," Sergey Lavrov told deputies of the Duma, the lower house of Parliament.

Lavrov said that "Putin will travel to China on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Japanese militarism and the end of World War II in late August, early September.

Moscow and Beijing have significantly strengthened their ties in recent years, positioning themselves as a counter to the U.S. hegemony that they oppose.

China does not officially support the Russian assault on Ukraine that began in February 2022, but it assists Russia in managing Western sanctions and even circumvents them. This has led NATO to accuse Beijing of playing "a determining role in the Russian-led war against Ukraine."

Russian authorities frame the conflict as an existential war, drawing parallels to the Soviet Union's (USSR) fight against Nazi Germany, and officially claiming their goal is to "denazify" Ukraine.

In Russia, the memory of World War II is prominently emphasized in public spaces and official discourse to celebrate the country’s patriotic and military values.

The USSR experienced the highest number of human losses during the conflict, with approximately 27 million people dead.

Russian and Chinese heads of state often demonstrate a close relationship, with Xi Jinping referring to his Russian counterpart as a "best friend" and Putin describing the Chinese leader as a "trusted partner."

Vladimir Putin visited China in May 2024, and Xi recently traveled to Russia, specifically to Kazan, for the BRICS summit in October.