BEIJING, April 13. /TASS/. China highly appreciates Russia’s stance on the territorial disputes in the South China Sea outlined by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his interview to the Chinese, Mongolian and Japanese media ahead of Lavrov’s visit to these countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Wednesday.

"China appreciates the words of the Russian foreign minister," the diplomat said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier said concerning the South China Sea issue that it is necessary "to stop any interference in the talks between the parties directly involved (in them) and attempts to internationalize these disputes."

Beijing has for decades been involved in a dispute with many countries in the region over the territorial jurisdiction of a number of islands in the South China Sea, where significant reserves of hydrocarbons have been found. This refers, above all, to the Xisha archipelago (the Paracel Islands), the Nansha Islands (the Spratly Islands) and Huangyan Island. Other countries involved in the dispute are Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. As of the end of 2013, China has been engaged in large-scale hydro-engineering and construction work on the expansion and development of the territories under its control.