MOSCOW, January 10. /TASS/. The Ukrainian crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as well as the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the Asia Pacific region were the focus of a phone call between Russian and Chinese Foreign Ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi, the Russian foreign ministry said.

"The two top diplomats touched upon a number of topical issues on the international agenda, including the Ukrainian crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the situation around the Korean Peninsula and in the Asia Pacific region in general," it said.

According to the ministry, the two ministers emphasized their rejection of the Western bloc’s confrontational policy toward Russia and China, its attempts to use sanctions to contain their development, deliberate provocations and other illegitimate methods. "Lavrov and Wang Yi noted the constructive nature of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing within the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and other international formats and stressed that this cooperation is not aimed against third countries," it said.

The Chinese side expressed support for Russia’s BRICS presidency. "The sides exchanged views on ways to establish contacts between China and the CIS. The conversation between the top Russian and Chinese diplomats once again reiterated that the two countries have similar approaches to global affairs and are ready to continue close coordination in the global arena," the ministry stressed. "The ministers also discussed the schedule of upcoming top- and high-level contacts."

Results of cooperation

According to the ministry, the two top diplomats summed up and gave high marks to the fruits of their cooperation in 2023. "They expressed satisfaction over the rapid development of the bilateral political dialogue and practical cooperation, which demonstrates sustainability and positive dynamics amid the general geopolitical instability in the world," it said, adding that Lavrov and Wang paid special attention to the implementation of agreements reached at the top political level.

"The sides stressed the importance of Russian-Chinese strategic cooperation in terms of forging a fair multipolar world order and, in particular, building a reliable foundation for Eurasian security," it noted.

"The ministers stated that bilateral trade and economic cooperation has managed to stand up to external challenges and trade between Russia and China in the past year surpassed the target of 200 billion US dollars. They noted the importance of cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and the One Way One Belt project," the ministry emphasized.