In a rare international appearance since the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed a live audience at the third Belt and Road forum in Beijing Wednesday. In the opening ceremony speech, Putin invited other countries to participate in the development of the Northern Sea Route. The meeting marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) summit. Speaking to 1,000 delegates represented by over 130 countries, Putin said he agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Belt and Road idea "folds logically within multilateral efforts" to increase global cooperation. The Northern Sea Route is a 3,480 mile-long shipping route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans which runs from the entrances of Novaya Zemiya straits in the west along the Russian Arctic Coast above Siberia.

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Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Xi Jinping Organizations: Initiative, Pacific, Foreign Policy Locations: Ukraine, Russian, Beijing, Russia, Persian, Novaya Zemiya, Siberia, Asia, Europe