MOSCOW, September 8. /TASS/. The joint photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping sparked real outrage in the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told MGIMO students and professors.

"The photograph of President Putin, Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping circulated worldwide, provoking anger and outrage among some Western leaders, who described it as a challenge to the so-called rules-based world order," Lavrov said. "Such an order never existed. Our bilateral relations with India and China, however, have long been established."

He said that some US analysts, commenting on the photo, openly stated: "’How is it that if these three are friends, then how can we use one against the other?’ That's the philosophy," the minister summed up.