MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. Western countries' policies in the Asia-Pacific region are stimulating further rapprochement between Russia and China, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said at a meeting at the Valdai International Discussion Club.

Ryabkov emphasized that relations between Moscow and Beijing are unprecedented in the depth of trust and mutual coordination of approaches. "And I wouldn’t set any limits or boundaries here. The leaders of our countries set goals, and our governments and security forces implement them. Joint exercises and other training events have undoubtedly already become widespread, depending on the situation and needs, and I don't think there’s a reason to expect them to be limited. Quite the contrary, especially given that the Asia-Pacific region, in the perception of policymakers, primarily in Washington, and not only there, is becoming a zone where an even more acute confrontation cannot be ruled out," the official added.

"And, regrettably, we must acknowledge that the approaches of a group of American allies and like-minded partners to forming various kinds of alliances, quasi-alliances, and groups of varying configurations, and to finding areas of cooperation that were previously simply absent in the sphere of military and military-technical cooperation, are now being formally implemented in alliance such as AUKUS," Ryabkov said. "All of this, by and large, stimulates the further deepening of our rapprochement with the People's Republic of China."

The deputy foreign minister emphasized that this fully meets the interests of both Russia and China. "And, using a term commonly used by our Chinese colleagues, we can say that we stand not only shoulder to shoulder, but back to back in our resistance to the machinations of our opponents and adversaries. This is an important factor that generally normalizes and improves the overall situation," he stated.

Outer Space

Speaking about cooperation |on military-technical issues in space," Ryabkov noted that, as is well known, Russia and China have traditionally supported, and continue to support, among other things, the legalization of multilateral commitments to prevent an arms race in outer space. "And the draft treaty we developed has been under consideration by the international community for several years," he said. "Unfortunately, the West group, driven by opposing ideas and views on this area, finds numerous excuses and quasi-excuses for not taking up this initiative."

The deputy foreign minister also noted that Russia has signed documents with more than 30 countries establishing commitments not to be the first to place weapons in space. "We, as in other areas, are not proactively pursuing any escalation," he emphasized. "We must, of course, keep our powder dry, and that is being done. But in this area, as in many others, we should not be expected to take any actions that would destabilize the overall situation; quite the opposite."