Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is meeting his counterparts in China and India this week — two countries that have come under pressure to denounce Russia’s actions in Ukraine With the death toll rising from the gratuitous conflict.
Lavrov first met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday ahead of a scheduled flight to India on Thursday, in only his second trip abroad since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24.
On paper, Lavrov’s meeting with wang It was ostensibly about the turmoil in Afghanistan. But one expert said it was “unreasonable” that they would not discuss the situation in Ukraine, including the harsh sanctions imposed by the international community on Russia and its ally Belarus.
“It is inconceivable that the two sides would avoid Ukraine in their discussions, no matter what they say the focus of the visit is,” Steve Tsang, director of China’s SOAS Institute, University of London, said before the visit.
Lavrov’s trip will give him an opportunity to gauge the state of Russia’s relations with him China and India It is under increasing international scrutiny for its lack of a strong response to Moscow.
Both China and India refused to immediately condemn the brutal Russian invasionBoth sides abstained from voting on United Nations resolutions calling on Moscow to halt its offensive on Ukraine immediately.
By the end of the first day of Lavrov’s stay in China on Wednesday, Beijing had made its position clear.
“There is no ceiling for cooperation between China and Russia, no ceiling for us to strive for peace, no ceiling for us to safeguard security and no ceiling for us to oppose hegemony,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.And the according to The state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Read more about Lavrov’s trip to Asia:
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