According to his own statements, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has been received for talks by China’s head of state Xi Jinping. “These were extremely useful talks,” said Medvedev, who is deputy chief of the Russian Security Council, on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. The 57-year-old said it was about bilateral cooperation, cooperation between the governing parties, but also international politics, including the conflict in Ukraine.
According to state media, during his surprise meeting with Medvedev, Xi expressed the hope that everyone involved in the Ukraine crisis would exercise restraint. Xi also told Medvedev that security concerns should be resolved politically, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Medvedev, as head of the Kremlin party “United Russia,” is roughly on a par with Xi Jinping, leader of the Communist Party in China, at least at party political level. However, unlike his host in Beijing, the former Russian president’s political powers are limited. The political guidelines in Russia are provided by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, whose greetings Medvedev sent to China. The former Russian president is only involved in decision-making processes as Putin’s deputy in the National Security Council.
During his tenure from 2008 to 2012, Medvedev was considered a relatively liberal and pro-Western representative of the authorities. Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, however, he has been trying to present himself as a hardliner. Observers suspect that Medvedev wants to gain more political weight with this change of image – and that he is being discussed as a possible successor to Putin. The reception at Xi Jinping means a significant upgrade for him. (apa / dpa / Archyde.com)