Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed issues on the global agenda, including the Ukrainian crisis and bilateral relations, over a telephone conversation, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“The parties highly appreciated the ongoing development of Russian-Chinese relations, which demonstrate stability and positive dynamics amid general geopolitical instability on the planet, including the Ukrainian crisis,” a statement released by the ministry, TASS News Agency reported.
“The ministers discussed a range of pressing issues on the international agenda. They noted their rejection of the Western bloc’s aggressive policy toward Russia and China and its attempts to contain their development by means of sanctions and other illegitimate methods. They positively assessed the constructive dialogue and the high level of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing within the United Nations, BRICS, SCO, the Group of Twenty and other international structures,” the statement added.
The contact between the foreign ministries of China and Russia was highlighted in the press release as having “once again confirmed unanimity or broad consonance of Moscow and Beijing’s approaches to world affairs.”
Moreover, the top diplomats reaffirmed “their readiness to continue close foreign policy coordination,” the Russian Foreign Ministry noted. Additionally, it said that the parties have given their bilateral agenda special attention to carrying out commitments made at the highest political level.
It was their first phone conversation after Wang Yi’s recent appointment to the foreign minister’s office.
Earlier, China’s Special Representative for Eurasian Affairs, Li Hui, represented Beijing’s perspective on resolving the Ukrainian issue at an international conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
