Mr Lavrov also praised Beijing’s “balanced” position on Ukraine.
Moscow:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told China’s special envoy Li Hui on Friday that there were “serious obstacles” to resuming peace talks, blaming Ukraine and Western countries.
“The Russian Foreign Minister reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to a politico-diplomatic solution to the conflict taking into account the serious obstacles to the resumption of peace talks created by the Ukrainian side and its Western masters,” the Foreign Ministry said.
During the meeting with Mr. Li, who was China’s ambassador to Russia between 2009 and 2019, Mr. Lavrov also praised Beijing’s “balanced” position on Ukraine.
While China says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict, it has been criticized for refusing to condemn Moscow for its offensive.
“The two sides expressed their readiness to further strengthen Russian-Chinese foreign policy cooperation, aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the region and across the planet,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Moscow said that separately, Mr. Li also met two of Lavrov’s representatives, Mikhail Galuzin and Andrei Rudenko.
Referring to the meeting between Galyuzin and Li, the Foreign Ministry said, “concerns were expressed about the dangerous consequences of the increased involvement of NATO countries in the Ukrainian conflict, (and) their actions to militarize Ukraine.”
The Chinese envoy’s visit to the Russian capital followed Mr Li’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev earlier this month.
Mr Lee has said that “there is no panacea to solve the crisis”.
Since the start of Moscow’s assault on Ukraine, Beijing and Moscow have grown closer in a partnership that has served as a diplomatic bulwark against the West.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Moscow in March, saying the relationship was “entering a new era”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)