China, Russia talk about strengthening security cooperation during Lavrov's visit

After talks in Beijing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that China and Russia would further strengthen security cooperation in Europe and Asia.

Lavrov added that the two countries agreed to start a dialogue on this issue with the participation of other like-minded people. These countries compete with the United States and its allies for influence in the world.

During a meeting with Xi Jinping, Lavrov praised the Chinese president, according to Russian media.

The reports quote Lavrov telling Xi that Russia would like to express our greatest appreciation and admiration for the successes you have achieved over the years, and especially over the last decade under your leadership.

Moscow has pushed to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties with Beijing as Russia is increasingly isolated by sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, Lavrov met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to discuss the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Asia-Pacific region. Russia and China align on several issues and are increasingly in conflict with democracies and NATO members.

Wang said Russia and China should oppose any small circle that engages in bloc confrontation, adding that NATO should not reach out to our common homeland.

Lavrov's visit coincides with the end of four days of negotiations in Beijing with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Yellen said she had difficult conversations with officials about national security, including U.S. concerns that Chinese companies were supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said China continued to provide materials to support Russia's defense industrial base.

Despite maintaining strong economic ties with Russia, China has claimed that it does not provide weapons or military assistance to Russia. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China has an objective and fair position on the Ukraine issue.

She added that China is neither one of the creators nor one of the actors of the Ukrainian crisis, and that we have not done and will not do anything to benefit from it.

Just weeks before Russia invades Ukraine in 2022, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a no-holds-barred agreement on relations between the two countries.

Since the deal, China has supported Russian rhetoric regarding the invasion, acknowledging that Western forces provoked the conflict. However, Beijing is officially calling for peace talks to end the conflict.

Mao said on Monday that Beijing would continue to promote peace talks in its own way. [and] maintain communication with relevant parties, including Russia and Ukraine.

She added that relevant countries should not defame or attack the normal state-to-state relations between China and Russia, let alone blame China and provoke bloc confrontation.

Since invading Ukraine, Russia has faced numerous sanctions, largely isolating the country from the Western world. As a result, diplomatic and economic ties between Moscow and Beijing have strengthened, making Russia the fastest growing trading partner.

The two countries have also increased their strategic cooperation, holding military exercises together and aiming to influence developing countries through various initiatives.

Last month, Sun Weidong, China's vice foreign minister, said relations between Beijing and Moscow were at their best in history.

Reuters reports that Putin will travel to China in May for talks with Xi, in what could be his first foreign trip since his re-election.

The Kremlin has said Putin and Xi may consider being in contact, but no specific time frame has been given.

Some information in this report comes from Reuters, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.