Amidst the ongoing war with Ukraine, Russia has once again read songs in praise of its ‘trustworthy friend’ China. In fact, the Russian foreign minister is visiting his ally China for the first time since Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine last month.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow and Beijing are moving towards a fair world order. Lavrov landed in the eastern city of Huangshan early Wednesday.
In a video released by the Russian Foreign Ministry ahead of a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Lavrov said the world “is going through a very serious phase in the history of international relations”.
“At the end of the reshaping of global relations, we, together with you, and with our sympathizers, will move towards a multipolar, equitable, democratic world order,” Lavrov said.
Before the meeting, the two foreign ministers were shown on Chinese state TV wearing face masks, shaking elbows in front of their national flag. Lavrov will participate in a series of meetings organized by China to discuss ways to help Afghanistan.
Diplomats from neighboring countries of the US and Afghanistan are also expected to attend these meetings. But there is speculation that the proceedings of Russia’s bloody attack on Ukraine may dominate these meetings.
Unlike many Western countries, Beijing has refused to condemn the invasion and provided a level of diplomatic cover for an increasingly isolated Russia.
US officials have accused China of being “willing” to provide military and economic aid to Russia, while US President Joe Biden compared Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to the crushing of China’s protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989 Is.
China and Russia have grown closer in recent years, with President Vladimir Putin attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics last month, days before Ukraine’s invasion. The strong leader and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping described relations between their two countries as “no-limits” as they signed billions of dollars in energy deals.