MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is preparing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and would like to show him the Moscow metro, the Big Circle Line of which has become the largest metro circle in the world, if the visit program allows that to happen.
Putin said at the Big Circle Line launch ceremony that the 70-kilometer line is the largest metro circle in the world, which "has even surpassed our friends in China, the current leader, the circle line of the Beijing metro."
"As we meet with the Chinese president, program permitting, we will gladly show it to our guests, at least I think we can show it to the delegation," Putin said.
The plans of building a metro circle to connect radial lines at a distance from the city center were made back in Soviet times but remained on paper for a long time for various reasons, Putin said. "Now, this extensive project [...], that the city needs right now, has been implemented thanks to the tireless work of the city government led by Sergei Semyonovich Sobyanin," he said.
This ambitious and much-needed project, which develops the metro and infrastructure in general, has been implemented within a short time, Putin said.
"Most importantly, the Big Circle Line will qualitatively change the entire transport system of the capital, will ease traffic on many highways, will serve as a good incentive for the development and improvement of adjacent urban areas, and will make the life of the metropolis, its residents and guests more convenient and dynamic," Putin said.