Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives to attend Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, 7 May 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE/GRIGORY SYSOEV/HOST PHOTO AGENCY RIA NOVOSTI
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Wednesday as Vladimir Putin’s “guest of honour” as foreign leaders gathered in the Russian capital ahead of the Victory Day parade on 9 May.
Xi’s arrival marks the start of a four-day state visit to Russia, during which he will meet with Putin to discuss the strengthening of ties between Moscow and Beijing as well as “pressing international and regional issues”, the Kremlin said, including the war in Ukraine, Russia-US relations and the proposed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline.
In an article published in state-affiliated newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta ahead of his arrival in Moscow, Xi hailed Russia and China as “significant powers making constructive contributions to global strategic stability and the improvement of global governance” and urged both nations to “jointly oppose any attempts to sow discord in the friendship and mutual trust between China and Russia”.
Xi is the most high-profile attendee among nearly 30 foreign leaders expected at what the Kremlin has billed as Moscow’s “grandest” Victory Day celebration to date, as Russia marks the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
While just two European politicians — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić — will be present, both faced difficulties travelling to Moscow after Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania refused to allow their aircraft to transit their airspace on Wednesday.
Posting on Facebook after Estonia blocked his travel plans, Fico condemned the move as a “deliberate attempt” to obstruct his visit to Moscow and said he would miss events scheduled for Thursday evening as a result of the delay.
Vučić, who arrived in the Russian capital on Wednesday evening, shared a video message from Red Square insisting that Serbia would “remain on its European path” despite warnings from EU leaders that his visit to Moscow would harm Serbia’s bid to join the bloc.
The Serbian president’s plane was forced to make an emergency landing in the Azerbaijani capital Baku earlier in the day amid disruption at all four Moscow airports caused by Ukrainian drone attacks.
As foreign leaders continued to arrive in the Russian capital, the Kremlin warned of “temporary disruptions” of mobile internet in Moscow and its surroundings ahead of Friday’s parade, with local residents reporting mobile service issues throughout Tuesday and Wednesday.
