BEIJING, April 9. /TASS/. Russia and China agreed to engage on Eurasian security with allies and follow a policy of "dual opposition" to the West’s "dual deterrence," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference following talks in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

According to the two top diplomats, Moscow and Beijing will join forces to counter attempts to slow down the natural course of history while seeking a way to resolve the Ukraine crisis, taking into account Russia’s interests. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping plan to hold at least two bilateral meetings this year, Lavrov said.

TASS has summarized Lavrov and Wang’s main points.

Russia-China relations

Putin and Xi are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in June and a BRICS summit in October, Lavrov announced, adding that the two leaders may also hold other meetings, too, "to maintain regular political dialogue."

According to Lavrov, relations between Moscow and Beijing are as good as ever thanks to the two leaders’ diplomacy.

Putin’s re-election as Russian president "gave additional guarantees of continuing along the path toward strengthening them further," the Russian foreign minister said. He also thanked China for sending observers to the Russian presidential election.

"The current good relationship between China and Russia has been hard-won and should be valued and nurtured by the two countries," Wang said. He gave his assurances that China will "resolutely support Russia’s stable development and revival under President Putin."

Eurasian security

Moscow and Beijing agreed to engage on Eurasian security "with the participation of allies," Lavrov said.

The two diplomats condemned the West’s attempts "to destroy the existing security architecture" in the Asia-Pacific. Wang cautioned NATO against "stretching its hands to our common home." "Any remarks or deeds that cause division or add up to confrontation are not welcome in the Asia-Pacific, and they have no future," the Chinese foreign minister emphasized.

'Dual opposition'

China’s top diplomat, according to Lavrov, "yesterday came up with <…> this policy of 'dual opposition' to the West’s 'dual deterrence.'" Moscow and Beijing will jointly "counter attempts to put the brakes on efforts to build a multipolar world order or the long overdue processes of installing democratization and justice," Lavrov explained.

Russia and China "will oppose hegemony, and the policy of force," support "universally accessible economic globalization" and rally against unilateral sanctions that "undermine the global world order and run counter to the trend of global development," Wang said.

Resolving Ukraine crisis

Russia and China agreed that any meetings on Ukraine that ignore Moscow’s position "while promoting the <…> so-called peace formula of [Ukrainian leader Vladimir] Zelensky and are therefore disconnected from reality, are futile," Lavrov recounted.

He thanked Beijing for its unbiased and balanced position on Ukraine. Commenting on the 12-point peace initiative on Ukraine proposed by China last year, Russia’s top diplomat lauded the plan for addressing the root causes behind the Ukraine conflict, "primarily in the context of ensuring indivisible security, including in Europe and the world over."

Beijing calls for convening an international conference "which both Russia and Ukraine would agree to, with the equal participation of all sides and a fair discussion of all peace plans," Wang maintained.

Attacks on Zaporozhye nuke plant

The Kiev regime will not escape responsibility for the recent attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), as Moscow will push the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations for "a frank recognition of what is happening," including around Ukraine as a whole," Lavrov concluded.