TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — As U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to play a game of “will she or won’t she?” visit Taiwan on her Asia tour, the Kremlin has publicly backed China and its “territorial integrity.”

Pelosi was scheduled to depart for Asia on Friday (July 29) and visit U.S. allies Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia.

U.S. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has been trying to play down the potential visit. Speaking on Thursday (July 28) with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平), Biden was conciliatory, even as Xi warned the U.S. not to "play with fire" over Taiwan.

In response, per The Moscow Times, Russia government spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters:

"Certainly we are in solidarity. We respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and believe that no country in the world should have the right to question this or take any inflammatory or other steps.”

Peskov added, "We are convinced that such behavior in the international arena can only cause additional tension."

At a news conference last week, Pelosi was quoted by AP as saying: "It’s important for us to show support for Taiwan.” She also clarified that, "None of us has ever said we're for independence, when it comes to Taiwan. That's up to Taiwan to decide.”

She was expected to travel with other U.S. lawmakers to Asia, but when asked about dropping in on Taiwan, she commented, "I never talk about my travel. It's a danger to me."

The Kremlin has been generally supportive of China, even after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. Many commentators have tied the situation vis-a-vis Russia and the Ukraine, with the possibility that China will carry out its threat to invade Taiwan.

If Pelosi did visit Taiwan, she would, as third in line to the presidency, be the most senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan since the then House Speaker Republican Newt Gingrich led a delegation to Taiwan 25 years ago.