BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to have a virtual meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.

The two leaders met for the last time end of June, also via a video link. The meeting comes as growing tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border have drawn international attention.

The United States and other Group of 7 leaders issued a statement on Sunday condemning “Russia’s military build-up and aggressive rhetoric towards Ukraine”. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom are part of the bloc of major economies.

China is not part of the G-7, but the Asian giant was a the subject of the group’s discussions at a meeting over the weekend, Reuters reported, citing officials.

China, which shares a long border with Russia, has focused a large part of its bilateral relations on trade, especially energy. Amid a coal shortage this year, China this year bought significant amounts of coal and other fuels from its northern neighbor.

Beijing’s position on Ukraine is less clear. Xi spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

In a virtual meeting with US President Joe Biden last week, Putin said Washington should not allow Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in exchange for assurances that Russian troops will not. would not lead an attack.

Biden said Washington would not accept such a request.

An attack on a member of NATO – a powerful military alliance – is considered an attack on all member countries. Ukraine has wanted to join the alliance since 2002, but Russia opposed it on the grounds that such a move would constitute a direct threat to its borders.