War in Ukraine, Middle East situation hinder China's plans – diplomat 

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

"The situation in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine hinder China's plans for its economic expansion, as the potential of the One Belt, One Road project is being reduced. China expects its economic authority to grow," Lytvyn said.

He recalled the statement of the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson at yesterday's One Belt, One Road forum that over 10 years, a trillion dollars worth of investments have been attracted, and many new jobs have been created, which is a frantic pace.

"As Chinese President Xi Jinping said, this decade has been so successful that they are confident about the next 'golden decade'. That is, they expect their authority as an international mediator to grow," the diplomat explained.

In addition to the economic issues that were the focus of the meeting, Ukraine and Israel were also in the spotlight. There is an assumption that Putin insisted that in the war between Ukraine and Russia and the conflict in the Middle East, the positions of Russia and China would be determined by mutual benefit, Lytvyn said.

• On October 17, Putin arrived in Beijing. He is taking part in the The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. There, the Russian president took part in an official meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and his wife, Peng Liyuan.

• The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine stated that the Russian president's visit to China could pose certain risks to Ukraine. However, Ukrainian intelligence is closely monitoring the situation.

• On October 18, after his meeting with Xi Jinping, Putin said that Russian aircraft armed with Kinzhal missiles would patrol the Black Sea.