Russia to initiate rapprochement with China, India, others: Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stresses that the world order will shift soon as Russia deepens cooperation with its allies that had been let down by the US.
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Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tunxi, East China's Anhui Province
Moscow initiating further rapprochements with large developing economies, such as India and China, is an inevitable, mutual process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday.
"Further rapprochement with our like-minded counterparts outside the former 'golden billion' is an absolutely inevitable process and is of mutual nature," Lavrov told a meeting of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (CFDP).
Lavrov also stressed that the current relations between Russia and China are "the best in their history", adding that the strategic partnerships with India, Algeria, and Egypt were deepening, and so were they with the countries of the Gulf.
The Russian relations with the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as the Asia-Pacific region, West Asia, Asia, Africa, and Latin America are gaining a new impetus as well, Lavrov revealed.
According to the top diplomat, Western countries had "once and for all" undermined their reputations through predatory actions toward foreign partners and countries. He also stressed that no country was immune to "state piracy" and expropriation, which led various countries to reduce their dependence on the US dollar, Western technologies, and markets.
He further expressed his confidence that a "gradual demonopolization" of the global economy was imminent while revealing that the "role of Russia and other countries in the future architecture of the world order is being determined" in the pivotal moment of the present.
A growing friendship between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin has helped put the two countries closer together. The ambition to end what China and Russia regard as America's economic and geopolitical hegemony further strengthened the diplomatic ties.
China has slammed the actions on numerous occasions. "Relevant sanctions will harm the world's economic recovery, it is in no one's interest," Premier Li Keqiang said during his annual press conference on Friday.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov revealed that Russia and China have constructed the entire infrastructure required for the transition to trading in national currencies.
The share of national currencies in Russian-Chinese trade has increased significantly in recent years, according to the diplomat, who added that under the new conditions, the goal of increasing Russian-Chinese trade to $200 billion by 2024 is achievable.
