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23 Jan 2023, 12:06Updated at: 23 Jan 2023, 12:53

Russian, Chinese, South African drills to be transparent, in line with law, Lavrov says

It is stated that three sovereign countries will hold drills without violating international law and I don’t understand with whom this can cause a mixed reaction

PRETORIA, January 23. /TASS/. The joint drills that Russia, China and South Africa will hold in the Indian Ocean in February don’t run counter to international law, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference following talks with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, Lavrov expressed confusion about the negative reaction that the upcoming exercise had caused in the West.

"Three sovereign countries will hold drills without violating international law and I don’t understand with whom this can cause a mixed reaction," the Russian top diplomat noted. "Probably our American colleagues, who believe that only they can conduct exercises around the world, and not only at their more than 200 military bases around the globe, but anywhere," he added.

"Our drills are transparent," the Russian foreign minister stressed. "Together with our South African and Chinese partners, we have made all the necessary information available," Lavrov said.

He noted that the United States "is actively involved in naval drills around China in the South China Sea, in the Taiwan Strait, as part of its so-called Indo-Pacific strategies but it isn’t drawing mixed reactions from anyone." "The media aren’t asking what America is doing ten thousand miles away from its coast, or even farther," Lavrov said.

According to the Russian top diplomat, the problem is that there are countries who seek "to usurp international relations, openly saying that there can be no rival to the US." "It is a blatant violation of the fundamental principle of the UN Charter that concerns the sovereign equality of states. We don’t want scandals and confrontation, we just would like every country to have its rights within the international system based on the UN Charter," Lavrov stressed.