July 4 (UPI) -- President Vladimir Putin of Russia met his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of an Eurasian intergovernmental security summit, marking their second meeting in as many months.
The leaders are in Astana, that capital of Kazakhstan, for a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization where Putin and Xi were to hold bilateral discussions.
In remarks to reporters before the talks on Wednesday, Putin described Russia-China relations as "going through the best period in their history," according to an English-language translated transcript provided by the Kremlin.
He said their relationship was guided by the principles of "equality, mutual benefit and respect for each other's sovereignty" and that their cooperation in global affairs "serves as a main stabilizing factor on the international stage, and we continue to further enhance it."
The meeting is their second since mid-May when Putin visited Beijing for a state visit during which the two leaders signed nearly a dozen agreements, including a joint statement on deepening their comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation.
Their growing relationship comes as their relations with Western democracies have fractured and amid growing tensions with the United States, which is heavily supporting Ukraine against Russia's invasion and has warned China against aiding its isolated ally.
Seemingly in reference to the United States, Putin on Wednesday remarked that the burgeoning relationship between China and Russia was "not directed against anyone" and that they "do not create any blocs or alliances."
"We are simply acting in the interests of our people," he said.
Xi similarly remarked that he and Putin holding meetings on the sidelines of international events has not only become a tradition of theirs but "the symbol of the high level that Russian-Chinese relations enjoy."
"Facing an international situation fraught with turbulence and changes, the two countries should keep upholding the original aspiration of lasting friendship, and sticking to the determination of benefiting the people, enhance the unique value of Chinese-Russian relations, cultivate new drivers of cooperation, and make tireless efforts to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests and safeguard the basic norms governing international relations," Xi said.