Lavrov Meets Chinese Foreign Minister in Beijing to Discuss Ukraine Crisis

After a three-day official visit to North Korea, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in the Chinese capital, Beijing, where he held a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to discuss the Ukrainian crisis.

The Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the meeting addressed 'the prospects for settling the Ukrainian crisis and relations with the United States,' in addition to several other hot issues such as the Israeli-Iranian conflict and the situation in the Korean Peninsula.

This visit comes amid a strong diplomatic and economic alliance between Moscow and Beijing, as China has not issued any condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022, nor demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Despite China declaring a neutral stance, it consistently calls for a cessation of hostilities, accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming Ukraine, which Kyiv's allies see as indirect support for Moscow.

It is worth noting that Lavrov visited North Korea before heading to China, where the leader of Pyongyang affirmed his country's readiness to provide unconditional support to Russia, in a message reflecting the depth of relations between the two countries amidst regional and international conflicts.