No Vladimir Putin-Imran Khan bilateral meeting in Beijing

Both leaders will be in the Chinese capital for the start of the Winter Olympics, diplomatically boycotted by the West. Owing to Covid-19 protocols and restrictions, the in-person meeting is not being held, say sources

By Sidhant Sibal/Anas Mallick

New Delhi/Islamabad: No bilateral meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan will be taking place next week in Beijing. Both leaders will be in the city for the start of the Winter Olympics, diplomatically boycotted by the West. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov to Russia's TASS said, "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." President Putin will be in China on February 4 and also hold summit-level talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

The controversial mega sporting event in China will see many world leaders attending the opening. Leaders of all 5 Central Asian countries, Monaco, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE are among the world leaders to attend the opening of Beijing winter Olympics.