Putin Buys Russian Traditional Drink For Xi At EEF, Jokingly Asks For Money Back In Yuan

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, after talks on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Russia's Vladivostok on Tuesday, visited an exhibition, where Putin bought sbiten, a traditional Russian drink, for Xi and jokingly asked for his money back in yuan.

VLADIVOSTOK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2018) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, after talks on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Russia's Vladivostok on Tuesday, visited an exhibition, where Putin bought sbiten, a traditional Russian drink, for Xi and jokingly asked for his money back in Yuan.

Earlier in the day, the two leaders held talks on the sidelines of the EEF, during which they confirmed their mutual interest in more actively using national currencies in bilateral transactions.

The two presidents visited the "Streets of Far East" exhibition then, which has been organized on the sidelines of the EEF to demonstrate to guests of the forum the current economic potential, cultural and national features of Russia's Far East.

In particular, the president visited a pavilion with honey products, where Putin bought two bottles of sbiten, a hot Russian drink based on honey mixed with water and spices, and gave them to Xi.

"I don't think I have any rubles," the Chinese president said.

The Russian leader jokingly said that Xi could pay him back later in yuan.

Putin and Xi also visited a pavilion devoted to economic opportunities of Russia's Amur Region, located near the Chinese border, where they got acquainted with some projects in the space, agriculture and chemical industries.

The fourth EEF started earlier on Tuesday and will last through Thursday on the island of Russky in the Russian city of Vladivostok. Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is the general information partner of the forum.