MOSCOW, July 15. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi have discussed information security, the situation in Central Asia and the Iran nuclear deal at a meeting on the sidelines of the high-level international conference "Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities" in Tashkent.

"A thorough exchange of views on topical global and regional problems, including international information security, the situation in Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region and Iran’s nuclear program, took place," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday. "Particular attention was paid to the current situation in Afghanistan. They reaffirmed their commitment to facilitating the Afghan settlement process through the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, taking into account the results of its meeting held within the framework of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers session."

According to the Foreign Ministry, the two top diplomats reiterated their mutual commitment to stronger coordination within the UN, the G20, BRICS and other international organizations. "The foreign ministers spoke highly of the outcome of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries held in Dushanbe on July 13-14 in the context of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the SCO marked this year. They highlighted the organization’s pivotal role in strengthening security and ensuring economic development in Eurasia, noted its growing influence on the global stage and indicated their desire to facilitate its further development," the ministry stressed.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the meeting took place in a confidential and constructive atmosphere typical of Russian-Chinese relations. "The two ministers noted that the existing bilateral ties surpassed such a form of interstate cooperation as military-political alliances of the Cold War era," the report said.