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Russia and China have condemned ‘illegal sanctions’ against Moscow as foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi met in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui today.
The key allies spoke of their joint plans for a ‘just, democratic world order’ in a sign of strengthening ties during a period of heightened global tensions after Putin‘s savage Ukraine invasion.
Russia is looking to China for support and partnerships as it becomes ever more isolated from global financial systems and supply chains.
China is hosting two days of meetings on Afghanistan but the ministers instead slammed sanctions and spoke about the situation in Ukraine.
The invasion is viewed as a bellwether on China’s stance towards Taiwan, which like Ukraine is considered highly vulnerable to an attempted land grab from its superpower neighbour.
Sergei Lavrov elbow bumps his fellow foreign minister Wang Yi at a meeting in China today where they discussed strengthening ties between the two countries
The key allies spoke of their joint plans for a ‘just, democratic world order’ in a sign of strengthening ties during a period of heightened global tensions after Putin’s savage Ukraine invasion., Pictured: a residential building in Luhansk today
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement today: ‘The ministers had a thorough exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine.
‘The head of the Russian foreign ministry informed his Chinese counterpart about the progress of the special military operation… and the dynamics of the negotiation process with the Kyiv regime.
‘The sides noted the counterproductive nature of the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and its satellites.’
The ministry said the two ministers had agreed that Russia and China would continue to strengthen their strategic partnership and to speak on global affairs ‘with a united voice’.
The invasion is viewed as a bellwether on China’s stance towards Taiwan, which like Ukraine is considered highly vulnerable (file image)
‘It was agreed to further strengthen foreign policy coordination and to widen cooperation on the bilateral track and in various multilateral formats,’ the ministry said.
Lavrov said the world was ‘living through a very serious stage in the history of international relations’.
At the end of this reshaping of global relations ‘we, together with you, and with our sympathisers will move towards a multipolar, just, democratic world order’, Lavrov said.
The two foreign ministers were shown on Chinese state TV in face masks bumping elbows in front of their national flags ahead of the meeting.
Russia is looking to China for support and partnerships as it becomes ever more isolated from global financial systems and supply chains
Wang said Chinese and Russian relations had ‘withstood the test of international turbulence’ and there was an increased willingness by them to develop relations that had ‘grown resiliently’, China’s Phoenix TV reported.
‘There is no limit to China-Russia cooperation, no limit to our efforts to achieve peace, safeguard security and oppose hegemony,’ a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman told a media briefing in Beijing.
‘China-Russia relations are non-aligned, non-confrontational and not targeted at any third party,’ the spokesman said.
Lavrov, who on Monday said Russia’s relations with China were at their strongest level ever, had arrived earlier in China for talks hosted by Wang that were set to include representatives from Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban as well as Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
But Russia’s bloody assault on Ukraine is likely to loom large over proceedings.
Unlike many Western nations, Beijing has refused to condemn the invasion and has provided a level of diplomatic cover for an increasingly isolated Russia.
US officials have accused China of signalling ‘willingness’ to provide military and economic aid to Russia, while US President Joe Biden has compared Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to China’s crushing of protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
China and Russia have become closer in recent years, with Putin notably attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics last month, days before the invasion of Ukraine.
The strongman leader and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping declared the relationship between their two countries knew ‘no limits’ while signing energy deals worth billions of dollars.
Source: Daily Mail
