Sources: Chinese president plans to visit Russia next week

Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to travel to Moscow soon, possibly next week, to meet his counterpart Vladimir Putin, sooner than previously expected, sources familiar with the matter said.

The planned visit comes at a time when China has offered to broker peace in Ukraine.

Russia's TASS news agency reported on Jan. 30 that Putin had invited his Chinese counterpart to visit Russia in the spring. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Xi's visit to Moscow could be in April or early May.

China's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the possibility that Xi would visit Moscow, and the Kremlin declined to comment, while sources familiar with the matter declined to release information about her identity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Xi has met his Russian counterpart in person 39 times since taking office, most recently last September at a summit in Central Asia.