Moscow, 22 February 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin praised close relations with China and said they were particularly important at present during a meeting with senior Chinese foreign policy official Wang Yi in Moscow.

"International relations are complicated today," Putin said at the start of the meeting, according to the Russian state news agency TASS, in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine.

"In this context, cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation ... is of particularly high importance for stabilizing the international situation."

A short video showed the two men greeting each other with a handshake and then taking a seat together at a table. Putin, expected to attend a patriotic concert at a Moscow's stadium later on Wednesday, also renewed his invitation to Chinese leader Xi Jinping to pay a state visit to Moscow.

Wang said China is ready to deepen both political and strategic cooperation, according to the Russian report. There was no official word on a peace initiative planned by China for Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia a year ago.