Overview
- China’s defense chief, Admiral Dong Jun, is in Moscow for talks with Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, according to a Russian Defense Ministry readout carried by TASS.
- Ahead of the meeting, Dong Jun attended a welcoming ceremony and then honored the war dead at Moscow’s Grave of the Unknown Soldier with a minute of silence.
- In public remarks released by the ministry, Dong Jun said Sino-Russian relations are “moving along swimmingly” and he credited the countries’ presidents for guiding ties on the right track.
- He said he is ready to use all opportunities to strengthen strategic cooperation and expand mutually beneficial work with the Russian military.
- The ministry’s statement also referred to “2016” as an important year for defense cooperation with high-level events planned, echoing the exact wording of the official readout.