China invites Russia’s defense minister to attend military exercises in August

Wei Fenghe

DUSHANBE, July 28. / TASS /: Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe invited his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu to participate in the joint military exercises, which will be held in China in August.

"Next month, we are going to carry out joint military exercises in China. I invite the Russian defense minister to the active phase of these exercises," Fenghe said at a meeting with Shoigu in Dushanbe on Wednesday.

The Chinese defense minister noted that he was "very glad to meet with my great and old friend, the well-respected Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, once again, emphasizing that "this meeting was challenging to organize amid the COVID-19 pandemic."

China’s defense minister also mentioned that in the current international context, the meeting with his Russian counterpart "was a pleasure for both of them, however, some countries did not like it." "This is exactly the essence of our meeting," Fenghe concluded.