Russian, Indian, Chinese top diplomats to discuss war on terror, North Korea

NEW DELHI, December 11. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will discuss on Monday with his Indian and Chinese counterparts, Sushma Swaraj and Wang Yi, the formation of an equal and indivisible security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region and the situation across the globe. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, separate meetings between the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC) have been held since 2005 in each of the countries by turns. The upcoming 15th meeting will be chaired by Swaraj. Traditional issues The RIC foreign ministers traditionally focus on such issues as the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula, the joint fight against terrorism, drug trafficking, strengthening international information security, countering the legalization of criminal proceeds and terrorism financing, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported. "In the context of shaping a multipolar world, the trio demonstrates an example of an effective search for answers to the current challenges in security and economic development at the global and regional levels," the ministry stressed. "We believe RIC’s task is to promote the principles of equal multilateral cooperation in international affairs." The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that this format was aimed at stepping up cooperation between Russia, India and China in various fields of mutual interest. "The three countries have established inter-ministerial consultations on Asia-Pacific issues, regular contacts between heads of financial intelligence services, experts on combating terrorism and ensuring international information security and young diplomats," the ministry said. "We are committed to further deepening dialogue within the ‘trio’ and jointly promoting our common stances on pressing contemporary issues, including through closer foreign policy coordination on international and regional platforms," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "The agreed approaches will be reflected in the ministers’ final Joint Communique." Bilateral meetings According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, on Monday Lavrov will hold separate meetings with Sushma Swaraj and Wang Yi. Russia’s top diplomat maintains permanent contacts with his Chinese and Indian counterparts and often holds bilateral meetings on the sidelines of major international forums. Lavrov’s previous meetings with Wang Yi took place on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN ministerial meeting in Manila in August and at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in September. The Russian foreign minister last met with his Indian counterpart at the 3rd Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. This time the ministers are expected to "exchange views on RIC issues and some other pressing international problems." Read more