Wednesday morning for meetings on the future of Afghanistan. However, Russia’s brutal invasion of its neighbor is likely to dominate proceedings.
Beijing refused to condemn the invasion, and provided diplomatic cover for an increasingly isolated Russia.
U.S. officials accuse China of showing “willingness” to provide economic and military aid to Russia. President Joe Biden compared the invasion to China’s suppression of protests at Tiananmen Square, 1989.
On Wednesday, however, Lavrov painted an image of a new “world Order,” stating that the world was going through “a very serious stage” in international relations history.
“We, together, with you and with , our sympathizers, will move towards multipolarity, just, democratic global order,” Lavrov stated in a video that was released by Russia’s foreign ministry before meeting with Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister.
Two ministers were seen in Chinese state TV wearing face masks and bumping elbows in front their national flags.
According to the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang Yi stated that China-Russia relations had “withstood the test of changing international circumstances, maintained the correct path of progress and showed tenacious development momentum.”
Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the foreign ministry, told reporters that Beijing and Moscow would continue to work together in order to “promote global multipolarity” and “democratize international relations.”
Wang said that China-Russia cooperation is unlimited, echoing a line President Vladimir Putin used to describe ties with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Wang stated, “Our pursuit of peace is without limits; our upholding security is without limits; our opposition to hegemony is without limits.”
Lavrov will be attending a series meetings hosted by China to discuss how to help Afghanistan. Diplomats from the United States as well as the Taliban-led neighboring countries are also expected to attend.
China has a small border with Afghanistan that China shares, but Beijing fears its neighbor could be a hub for Muslim Uyghur separatists based in Xinjiang.
These meetings are the result of Wang’s visit to Kabul last week, his first trip in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power.
Russia and China have grown closer in recent years . Putin was present at the opening ceremony for the Beijing Winter Olympics last week, just days before the invasion by Ukraine. During Putin’s visit, the strongman leader and China’s Xi made energy deals worth billions.
Putin had a private meeting with Xi prior to the opening ceremony in Beijing. The leaders then issued a joint statement that showed a united front against Western criticism. The Kremlin posted the statement on its website. It attempted to show Russia and China as not opponents of democracy and freedom, but rather as purveyors.
Even though Russia and China were not named explicitly, it was clear that the message was clear: The world has changed and they won’t be stopped.
The February statement stated that “some forces representing a minority on the international stage continue to advocate unilateral solutions to international problems and resort power politics, practice interference into the internal affairs of others, damaging their legitimate right to rights, provoking contradictions and disagreements, and confrontation.”
They declared that democracy was not built with templates. The socio-political structure and history of a state determine the form and method of democracy implementation. Only the people have the right to decide whether a state has a democratic character.
Although the message may seem simple, the democratic West might find it hard to ignore: Russian and Chinese citizens do not have the “right to choose such forms of implementing democracy” they want, since neither country has free or fair elections. Moreover, speaking out against existing “forms of governance can often result in imprisonment for who attempt it.
China and Russia made it clear in their joint statement that they reaffirmed their mutual support for their fundamental interests, state sovereignty, territorial integrity and against the interference of foreign forces in their internal affairs.