Key points
- Wang Yi currently visiting Moscow
- Chinese official also meets Putin
- Discusses a wide range of issues in bilateral relations
ISLAMABAD: Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, the situation on the Korean Peninsula as well as Iran’s nuclear programme.
In a statement, the ministry said “(The ministers) touched on individual regional issues related to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Iran’s nuclear program, the state of affairs in Central Asia.”
Wang is on a three-day visit to Moscow where he also met with President Vladimir Putin, the latest in a series of top-level meetings between the two powers in recent years aimed at deepening strategic cooperation amid shifts in the geopolitical landscape.
“The talks were held in a friendly and open atmosphere, characteristic of Russian-Chinese relations. The overlapping – or closeness – of positions on the main issues of bilateral cooperation and the global agenda was emphasized.”
Nuclear talks
According to Reuters news agency, China and Russia said last month that nuclear talks with Tehran, demanded by the United States, should only resume based on “mutual respect” and all sanctions ought to be lifted.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday urged Russia and China to strengthen their strategic cooperation amid global turbulence consistently.
Putin made these comments during a meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Kremlin.
Putin satisfied
During the meeting, Putin conveyed his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping and expressed satisfaction over the effective implementation of the consensus reached between the two countries’ heads of state, CGTN reported.
China is ready to play a “constructive role” in ending the conflict in Ukraine but will back Russia to defend its “interests”, top diplomat Wang Yi told Russian state media in an interview published on Tuesday.
Moscow and Beijing have deepened political, military and economic cooperation since Russia ordered its full-scale military offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.
