Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed China's willingness to play a "constructive role" in solving the Ukraine crisis, in an article released on Sunday, the eve of a visit by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
In what the Kremlin said was an article written for a Chinese newspaper, Putin called Xi his "good old friend" and said Russia had high hopes for his visit, the Chinese leader's first to Russia since Putin launched his "special military operation" last year.
