China has expressed its support for Russia’s initiative to revive the dormant Russia-India-China (RIC) troika, saying the trilateral cooperation not only serves the interest of the three countries but also the security and stability of the region and the world.
Russian news portal Izvestia has quoted Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying that Moscow expects the resumption of the RIC format and is negotiating on this issue with Beijing and New Delhi.
“This topic appears in our negotiations with both of them. We are interested in making this format work, because these three countries are important partners, besides the founders of BRICS,” Rudenko said.
“Therefore, the absence of this format, in my opinion, looks inappropriate. In this regard, we expect that the countries will agree to resume work within the framework of the RIC — of course, when relations between these states reach a level that allows them to work in a trilateral format,” he said.
Asked for his reaction to Rudenko’s comments at a media briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Thursday said, “China-Russia-India cooperation not only serves the respective interests of the three countries but also helps uphold peace, security, stability and progress in the region and the world.”
China stands ready to maintain communication with Russia and India on advancing the trilateral cooperation, he said.
The Russian and Chinese interests in the revival of the RIC followed the recent visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to China to take part in the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting, during which he held talks with top Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Joint work in the RIC format was stalled, first because of the coronavirus and later by the India-China military standoff at Eastern Ladakh in 2020, Lavrov said last year.
