On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in the eastern Chinese town of Tunxi on the sidelines of a series of meetings among global powers on the Afghan crisis. The pair discussed ways to cement “sustainable and consistent” bilateral ties in the new “multipolar, equitable, and democratic world order.”
Russia’s top diplomat opened his speech by acknowledging that the meeting is taking place amid a “serious stage” in international relations, referring to the Ukraine war.
🇷🇺🇨🇳 Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi meet in Tunxi, China#RussiaChina 🤝 pic.twitter.com/tMaLlQmn0z
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) March 30, 2022
He told reporters that the bilateral talks were focused on aligning Moscow and Beijing’s foreign policy, adding that he was “content” with the meeting. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement said that Lavrov updated Wang about Russia’s involvement in Ukraine and negotiations with Kyiv. Regarding the latest Russia-Ukraine peace talks that took place in Turkey, he remarked that the talks were a “positive move forward,” underscoring that there are still lots of issues remaining, particularly regarding the status of Crimea and the Donbas.
In response, Wang hailed Russia’s attempts to “prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis” in Ukraine. Additionally, he echoed with Lavrov’s assessment of the meeting by saying, “China is willing to work with Russia to take China-Russian ties to a higher level in a new era.”
There it is.
— Richard Medhurst (@richimedhurst) March 30, 2022
Russia's Foreign Minister Lavrov, during a visit to China, says that Russia, China and its sympathizers are moving towards a "multipolar, just, democratic world order".
This is the global realignment unfolding before us.
Both diplomats also slammed the “counterproductive,” “illegal,” and “unilateral” sanctions on Russia by the United States (US) and its allies. The Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Wang as saying that China-Russia bilateral relations have “withstood the test of international turbulence,” perhaps a veiled reference to international pressure on Beijing to punish or condemn Moscow for the Ukraine war.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin declared that when it comes to ensuring peace and security, “there is no limit to China-Russia cooperation.” He emphasised that Moscow and Beijing’s diplomatic relations are centred around “non-alliance, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of any third party.”
Russia and China will move together towards a multipolar, fair world order pic.twitter.com/O6Eko5Z1Up
— Olala 🇨🇳🇷🇺 🇻🇳 (@olalakl2) March 30, 2022
Lavrov is set to arrive in India today to brief New Delhi about the situation in Ukraine. Incidentally, Lavrov’s India trip coincides with visits from major diplomats from the US and the United Kingdom (UK). British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is set to meet Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar as part of the United Kingdom’s “wider diplomatic push” to convince countries to take a stronger stand against Russia. Meanwhile, the United States has sent Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh.