Lavrov blasts efforts to ‘contain’ Russia, China on Beijing visit

BEIJING: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticised efforts he said were aimed at “containing” Russia and China on Tuesday during a visit to Beijing, where he also discussed with his Chinese counterpart plans for a meeting “within the year” between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

Lavrov was given a red-carpet welcome after he arrived in the Chinese capital, photographs released by the Russian foreign ministry showed.

He later met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, who he was seen shaking hands with in a picture posted on social media by Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.