Russian FM says Moscow, Beijing work closely on international issues

MOSCOW, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Russia and China are working closely together on a string of important international and regional issues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

"We can try to enumerate for a long time the joint initiatives that Russia and China are promoting in the international arena," Lavrov said at his annual press conference.

The two countries are working actively on their joint initiative on the transition from military confrontation to a political settlement on the Korean Peninsula, one of the most serious topics on the international agenda, he said.

"If we talk about the nuclear issue, it is primarily Pyongyang and Washington, but we will also be ready to contribute to this bilateral dialogue within the framework of the so-called six-party process involving Russia, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea," he added.

The six-party talks to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, which involved South Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), China, the United States, Russia and Japan, have been suspended since late 2008.

With regard to the Syrian settlement, Russia and China share the same stance in appealing for "an exclusively political settlement based on the decisions of the United Nations Security Council that presupposes a political dialogue," Lavrov said.

The minister also highlighted cooperation in the field of international security, specifying that the two countries jointly drafted important documents concerning the non-deployment of weapons in outer space and the prevention of acts of chemical and biological terrorism.

A close process of consolidation of efforts on integration of the Eurasian space was also observed, Lavrov said, adding that the two countries have agreed to promote the integration of their Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Belt and Road initiatives.

"Members of the EAEU are preparing an agreement on trade and economic cooperation with China. In parallel, there are contacts between the EAEU and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization...In general, this is what President Putin called the Greater Eurasian Project," he said.

Putin announced the idea of a greater Eurasian partnership in December 2015. Enditem