By Imran Nasir 

ISLAMABAD (TSAT) - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to meet in Beijing next month on the sideline of Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony, sources said.

The two leaders will attend the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony to show solidarity with China as some western countries including US already announced to boycott this big event and will not send their diplomat for participation.

On Friday, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Asim Iftikhar avoided to confirm the Khan and Putin meeting in Beijing and said “We will share more details about the program and the kind of engagements that will be there including meetings on the sidelines.”

The country’s Foreign Ministry already announced that Khan will visit Beijing next month on at the invitation of Chinese leadership to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 is scheduled to be held in Beijing from Feb. 4 to 20.

Last week, Khan and Putin also spoke over the phone and discussed the regional issues including current situation in Afghanistan.

Khan also appreciated Putin statement regarding respect for Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).

“Enhancement of bilateral cooperation in different areas including economy, trade and energy, high-level exchanges, besides regional and international issues also came up for discussion in this important interaction,” according to the Foreign Ministry.

Pakistan and Russian ties grew in recent years as the two country political and military leadership engagements increased including holding joint military exercises last year.