CRI听力:Chinese, Russian Presidents Hold Talks on Syria

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi ahead of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics, with part of their talks surrounding the Syrian crisis.

Su Yi has more.

Reporter: On top of exchanging diplomatic niceties, the two leaders have held a video talk with naval commanders aboard their countries' warships escorting the shipments of Syrian chemical weapons.

Naval commanders say their vessels have completed two escort operations "in close cooperation" and are ready for the next assignment.

The two leaders say their naval forces are trusted with the task of safeguarding the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons.

China, Denmark, Norway and Russia have sent warships to take part in the UN mission.

China and Russia have provided escorts to the convoy carrying Syria's chemical weapons, which were loaded onto two cargo ships and escorted to Italy.

After that, a U.S. ship equipped with toxin neutralizing equipment took over.

Also Xi Jinping's visit to Sochi is the first time a Chinese leader has attended a major international sports event outside China.

Liu Hui is China's ambassador to Russia.

"The attendance of President Xi at the Sochi Winter Olympics is in itself a magnificent step in terms of our international view. It manifests China's enormous support for the international Olympic movement and its confidence in positive international interaction. The ongoing relationship between China and Russia is in its best historic form. It is known to all that in 2013 President Xi and President Putin have met five times. The presence of President Xi at the opening ceremony of the Winter Games shows the working comradeship between leaders of both countries as well as their deep personal friendship."

For CRI, I'm Su Yi.

For more on the cooperation between China and Russia when it comes to the destruction of chemical weapons in Syria, Shane Bigham earlier spoke with Li Guofu, Director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.