China's Foreign Minister will visit Russia next week for talks on issues including efforts to end the war in Ukraine, both countries announced Friday.

"At the invitation of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov... Foreign Minister Wang Yi will pay an official visit to Russia from March 31 to April 2," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

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President Vladimir Putin said late Thursday that Russian forces have a "strategic initiative" on the front line in Ukraine and floated the idea of establishing a "transitional" government in Kyiv under the auspices of the United Nations.

"Along the entire front line, our forces have the strategic initiative," Putin said during a visit to the

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that it would be premature to expect higher-level talks between Russian and U.S. officials as Washington assesses Moscow's response to its efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

"I think you have to make more progress on a technical level," Rubio told reporters. "There's a lot of work to be done with

President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he believes U.S. President Donald Trump is serious about plans to annex Greenland and worries the West could use the Arctic as a springboard for future conflicts.

After taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly said that he would like to see Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, under the