BEIJING, February 1. /TASS/. The West is seeking to sow discord between Russia and China, but will never be able to do that, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"The West is dreaming of sowing discord in the strategic alliance between our countries. I would like to reiterate that Moscow and Beijing will not sit idly by and tolerate any biased insinuations," the press service of the Russian Security Council quoted him as saying.

According to Shoigu, the meeting was very timely. "We see that Western countries have made it a rule to justify their actions by the Russian and Chinese threat," he said, adding that the level of foreign policy coordination between the two countries is "traditionally high." "I would like to reassure once again that we will, shoulder o shoulder, be taking appropriate measures to preserve global and regional stability and defend international law based on the United Nations system."

BRICS and CSO

Russia and China will expand cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS, Shoigu pledged.

"These formats are an example of interstate cooperation based on mutual respect. They reflect the interests of the global majority rather than a small group of persons who claim to be the chosen ones," he added.