Lavrov on first China visit since Russian invasion of Ukraine

Bloomberg

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in China for talks on Afghanistan, his first visit to the world’s second-biggest economy since the war in Ukraine started.
Lavrov’s plane landed on Wednesday in the eastern province of Anhui, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter. He’s set to participate in a meeting of foreign ministers
of countries bordering Afghanistan, Interfax reported last week.
Although China hasn’t released details of the talks, it’s the first opportunity for high-level, in-person discussions between the diplomatic allies since Vladimir Putin’s invasion shook up global geopolitics. In a visit to Beijing just weeks before the war, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a “no-limits” friendship.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin reiterated on Wednesday at a regular press briefing in Beijing that “cooperation between China and Russia has no
limits.”
“We will do our utmost to work for peace and security, and reject hegemony,” he added, noting that details
on Lavrov’s visit would be
released “in a timely manner.”
China has struggled to come up with a consistent response to the war, supporting Putin’s rationale for the invasion on the one hand, while also expressing concern about civilian casualties and pushing for talks to end the fighting. China has so far complied with sanctions from the US and other countries, even though it has officially opposed them.
Lavrov is also set to visit India on Thursday to discuss the sale of Russian crude oil to the country and the possibility of a rupee-ruble denominated payment method that could work outside the SWIFT messaging system, Bloomberg reported. India has taken a similar position as China, drawing some criticism from US President Joe Biden.