Russian FM Lavrov arrives in China for two-day visit amid West Asia conflict

Beijing: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in China on Tuesday for a two-day official visit to discuss the bilateral cooperation across key sectors, as well as the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia.

Earlier on Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that during his visit to China from April 14-15, the Foreign Minister will hold talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

“The two countries’ foreign ministers will discuss a wide range of bilateral cooperation issues, prospects for contacts at various levels, and international collaboration, with a focus on joint work within the UN, BRICS, SCO, G20, APEC, and other multilateral mechanisms and forums. A detailed exchange of views is expected on a number of hot topics and regional issues, including the Ukrainian crisis and the situation in the Middle East,” it added.

Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing that during this visit, the foreign ministers of the two countries will exchange views and coordinate positions on the development of bilateral ties, cooperation in various fields, and international and regional issues of mutual concern, according to Xinhua news agency.

This also came as Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday admitted that the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is likely to impact international markets negatively.

“Most likely, such actions will continue to negatively impact international markets; this can be assumed with a high degree of certainty,” the Kremlin spokesman was quoted as saying by Russia’s leading Tass news agency during a regular media briefing in Moscow.

Responding to another question, he asserted that details on the US blocking of the Strait of Hormuz remain unclear.

“Many details here remain unclear and incomprehensible, so I would refrain from any substantive comments at this time,” Peskov commented on the US threat of blocking the strait.

On Sunday, the United States made it clear that it will begin enforcing a sweeping maritime blockade of vessels entering or exiting Iranian ports from April 13, escalating tensions after high-stakes talks between Washington and Tehran failed to yield agreement on key issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme.

IANS