Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, will discuss international issues, including aggressive rhetoric of NATO and the United States, during the upcoming online meeting, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"The situation in international affairs, especially on the European continent, is very, very tense, and of course, requires discussion between the allies, between Moscow and Beijing. We see very, very aggressive rhetoric, both from NATO and from the United States of America, this requires our discussion with the Chinese side," Sputnik news agency quoting Peskov as saying.

The Kremlin spokesman also said that leaders will discuss regional issues, energy, and bilateral relations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a virtual meeting on December 15.

Amid escalating tensions with the West, China and Russia are strengthening ties.

On foreign policy, Beijing and Moscow share similar approaches to Iran, Syria and Venezuela, and recently revived a push to lift United Nations sanctions on North Korea.