Russian, Chinese FMs discuss Ukrainian crisis, Palestinian-Israeli conflict

MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had a telephone call on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"A number of relevant items on the international agenda, including the Ukrainian crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula and in the Asia-Pacific region in general, were discussed," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The parties "reviewed and gave a high evaluation of the main outcomes of [their] interaction in 2023 and expressed satisfaction with the high pace of development of the bilateral political dialogue and practical cooperation, which showed resilience and positive momentum amid the general geopolitical instability around the world," the ministry said.

"Special attention was given to the implementation of the agreements reached at the highest political level. The special importance of Russian-Chinese strategic interaction for establishing a just multipolar world order, and in particular creating reliable foundations for Eurasian security was emphasized," the ministry said.

The ministers stated that "bilateral commercial and economic cooperation has successfully dealt with external challenges, and trade between Russia and China confidently exceeded $200 billion at the year's end," it said. "The importance of developing cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and the Belt and Road Initiative was highlighted," it said.

"The parties expressed a mutual commitment to further developing close humanitarian ties in sports, education, science, cultural exchanges, and organizing international competitions of masters of art," it said.

During their call, the ministers "emphasized the common rejection of the Western bloc's confrontational policy in relation to Russia and China and attempts to restrain their development by means of sanctions, deliberate provocations, and other illegitimate methods," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its website.

"Lavrov and Wang noted the strictly constructive nature of interaction between Moscow and Beijing, [which is] not aimed against third countries, as part of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, and other multilateral formats," the ministry said.

"The Chinese side expressed support for the Russian chairmanship of BRICS," it said. "The parties exchanged views on ways to establish China's contacts with the Commonwealth of Independent States," it said.

"The contact between the heads of the Russian and Chinese foreign policy agencies once again confirmed the broad convergence of the two countries' approaches to international affairs and the parties' readiness to maintain close coordination in the global arena in the future," it said.

The ministers discussed the schedule of upcoming summit and high level contacts, the ministry said.