BEIJING, China: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Guilin, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Monday. The two sides conducted strategic communication on international and regional issues of common concern and reached broad consensus.
This is Lavrov’s first visit to China since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The two sides briefed each other on the recent situation of their relations with the United States. Both foreign ministers said that the international community believes that the United States should reflect on the damage it has done to global peace and development in recent years, stop unilateral bullying, stop interfering in other countries’ internal affairs, and stop pulling “small circles” to engage in group confrontation.
All countries should abide by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, pursue true multilateralism, work for the democratisation of international relations, accept and promote the peaceful coexistence and common development of countries with different social systems and development paths.
On the Iranian nuclear issue, the two sides believe that the United States should return to the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue as soon as possible and unconditionally, and withdraw its unilateral sanction against Iran.
At the same time, they encourage Iran to fully implement the agreement and hope that the comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue will continue to play its due role in stopping nuclear proliferation.
China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a meeting in Guilin, China, March 22, 2021. /CMG
The two sides also proposed the establishment of a regional security dialogue platform to form a new consensus on solving the security concerns of countries in the region.
On the issue of Afghanistan, the two sides attach importance to various international efforts, including the Moscow process, and hope that all dialogue mechanisms related to Afghanistan will complement each other, form joint forces, truly embody the principle of “Afghan owned and Afghan led,” seize the opportunity and speed up the process of peace, reconciliation and reconstruction.
On the Myanmar issue, both sides are deeply worried about the evolution of the current situation, and support all parties and factions in Myanmar to find a political solution to the current crisis under the constitutional and legal framework, so as to avoid another bloody conflict, prevent external forces from taking advantage of the opportunity to seek profits, and continue to promote the process of democratic transformation in Myanmar.
The two sides also coordinated their positions on such hot issues as UN reform, the response to climate change, the Asia Pacific situation, Syria and Sudan. Tomorrow, the two sides will continue to hold talks on bilateral relations and international and regional situation.
