Lavrov to meet Indian, Chinese counterparts in Beijing

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will attend a meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, India and China in Beijing on Monday and will be received by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Lavrov with consider with his Indian and Chinese colleagues - Sushma Swaraj and Wang Yi - a wide range of topical foreign policy issues, and the "priority will be given to the discussion of the current situation in the world in the context of the growing threats to stability and security, continuing difficulties in the global economy," said the Russian Foreign Ministry. "Deeper cooperation in the process of reconfiguration of the global governance system the hallmark of which is the strengthening role of the Asia-Pacific region in international affairs is acquiring particular importance," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The ministers will also discuss ways to strengthen the UN's central role, the creation of which 70 years ago became possible thanks to the victory over fascism in World War II. The negotiators will discuss as a matter of priority the formation of security and cooperation architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, the coordination of the positions of Russia, India and China within the framework of regional organisations and forums, including the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum on Security, Asia-Europe Forum and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia. In connection with the growing threat of international terrorism, the foreign ministers will exchange views on the situation in Afghanistan, where there Islamic State militants’ activity has intensified. The agenda of the meeting also includes issues related to the internal conflict in Ukraine, progress of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear programme, the situation in the Middle East, especially in Syria and Iraq. Moscow regards the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a promising venue for joint work, especially in the light of India's bid for full SCO membership. The ministers will adopt a joint communiqué on the talks’ results. Russia considers the mechanism of RIC (Russia, India, China) that is functioning since 2003 "as an effective platform for dialogue between the three countries on international and regional agenda issues." The next meeting of the foreign ministers in the RIC format is planned in Russia in the second half of 2015. Read more