Russia, India, China foreign ministers meet in Moscow, exchange views on trilateral cooperation
September 10,2020: Foreign Minister of Russia Mr. Sergey Lavrov, External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar and State Councillor/Foreign Minister of China Mr. Wang Yi met in Moscow today.
The Ministers exchanged views on further strengthening of Russia-India-China trilateral cooperation as well as topical issues of international and regional importance, in the spirit of mutual understanding, friendship and trust. The Ministers noted that common development and cooperation of the three countries is conducive to promoting global growth, peace and stability.
Recalling their video-conference of 23 June 2020 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War and the creation of the United Nations, the Ministers reiterated their support for inclusive multilateralism and respect for universally recognized principles of international law.
The Ministers noted with appreciation the continuation of joint activities held under the RIC framework, including the 2nd RIC DG-level Consultations on Regional Issues hosted by India in August 2019, 17th RIC Academic Exchange Conference hosted by China in September 2019, the 3rd edition of the RIC Young Diplomats Programme hosted by Russia in October 2019 and the first online meeting of national sanitary and epidemiological services held on 8 September 2020. The Ministers agreed that the three countries, with strong scientific and industrial capacities, could make a significant contribution towards mitigating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The External Affairs Minister of India and the Foreign Minister of China thanked the Foreign Minister of Russia for the chairmanship of RIC and the meetings/conferences organized during the past one year. The Foreign Minister of Russia officially handed over the chairmanship of RIC to the External Affairs Minister of India.
The meeting took place in the backdrop of a massive spike in border tensions between India and China in eastern Ladakh triggered by fresh face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops along the LAC in eastern Ladakh.
Both Jaishankar and Want Yi are in Moscow to attend the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which Russia as the chair of the SCO for year 2020 is hosting.
Earlier in the day the two ministers had met during the SCO ministerial.
