Russia and Ukraine have established a diplomatic communication channel through their respective embassies in Belarus to handle consular and legal matters, local media reported on Friday.
Alexey Polishchuk, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Second CIS Department, told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency that the two nations maintain correspondence primarily through the embassy-mediated channel, describing the interaction as focused on procedural and consular affairs.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg on Friday for talks on the Ukraine conflict.
Before the meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin and Witkoff might discuss the possibility of Putin meeting Trump face-to-face.
Earlier this year, in February and March, Witkoff visited Russia twice as a special envoy.
Russia, Ukraine in contact via embassies in Belarus: Russian diplomat
Qingdao Port launched a new container shipping route to West Africa on Sunday, further expanding the maritime logistics corridor between China and Africa and injecting fresh momentum into bilateral trade as zero-tariff measures for 53 African countries that have diplomatic relations with China are expected to take effect on May 1.
At the Qingdao Qianwan Container Terminal, a container ship carrying Chinese-made goods such as auto parts, tires, and solar panels set sail for key West African ports including Tema and Lagos.
This marks the second container shipping route to Africa that Qingdao Port has opened this year. The service will operate weekly with 13 vessels on rotation.
"Qingdao Port, as a key regular port of call in northern China, now offers direct access to major commercial hubs in West Africa, significantly shortening the logistics time between Shandong and inland regions and West Africa," said Shao Chao, a mechanical team leader of the No. 2 Operating Brigade at Qingdao Qianwan Container Terminal.
Qingdao Port now operates a total of 11 Africa-bound container shipping routes covering the continent's core markets in East, West and North Africa. Together with 32 international freight train services, the port has established a sea-rail intermodal network spanning 23 Belt and Road partner countries.
In the first quarter of 2026, the total export value from Qingdao Port to Africa exceeded 43.56 billion yuan (about 6.38 billion U.S. dollars), up 26.3 percent year on year. Among them, the export growth rates of mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products reached 37.4 percent and 25.7 percent respectively.
Qingdao Port opens new shipping route to boost China-Africa trade
