President Vladimir Putin welcomed his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, to Russia on Tuesday, as the Kremlin head prepares to host several leaders of developing nations at an intergovernmental summit this week.

Mastercard and Visa halted operations in Russia. Most Russian banks only take US dollars or euros to exchange for rubles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls Chinese President Xi Jinping his ‘dear friend’ Tuesday at a BRICS summit meeting hosted in Kazan