Putin, Xi discuss 'counterproductive' US-organised Summit for Democracy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a virtual meeting on Wednesday and discussed the recently held US-organised Summit for Democracy.

The Summit for Democracy was held last week. Both Russia and China were not invited to the summit which saw the participation dozens of countries.

At the virtual summit, both Putin and Xi said that the summit was "counterproductive" and imposes new dividing lines in the international community.

"[The leaders] were unanimous in their assessments that the event was thought of as a confrontational one from the very beginning, and that is what it actually became," said Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, as quoted by Russian news agency Sputnik.

Xi said that he expects to meet his Russian counterpart in Beijing in February, according to Xinhua news agency.

Putin said he looks forward to his upcoming visit to China and attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics next year.

During the meeting, Putin expressed hopes Beijing Winter Olympics will be held at a high level.