Hong Kong: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in China for talks on Afghanistan, his first visit to the world’s second-biggest economy since the war in Ukraine started.
Lavrov’s plane landed Wednesday in the eastern province of Anhui, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter. He’s set to participate in a meeting of foreign ministers of countries bordering Afghanistan, Interfax reported last week.
Although China hasn’t released details of the talks, it’s the first opportunity for high-level, in-person discussions between the diplomatic allies since Vladimir Putin’s invasion shook up global geopolitics. In a visit to Beijing just weeks before the war, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a “no-limits” friendship.
China has struggled to come up with a consistent response to the war, supporting Putin’s rationale for the invasion on the one hand, while also expressing concern about civilian casualties and pushing for talks to end the fighting. China has so far complied with sanctions from the U.S. and other countries, even though it has officially opposed them.
Lavrov is also set to visit India on Thursday to discuss the sale of Russian crude oil to the country and the possibility of a rupee-ruble denominated payment method that could work outside the SWIFT messaging system, Bloomberg reported. India has taken a similar position as China, drawing some criticism from U.S. President Joe Biden. –Bloomberg
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