According to Interfax, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in China for four-way talks on Afghanistan. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, Lavrov has rarely left his country. In the city of Tunxi, he now meets with high-ranking diplomats from the US, China and Pakistan. As Russian state agency Tass reported, Lavrov is already planning consultations with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday.
China is giving Russia political support in the Ukraine conflict and refuses to condemn the invasion. Instead, Beijing portrays the US and NATO as the main cause of the crisis. Tensions overshadow the expanded troika meeting on Afghanistan, to which host China invited the US as well as Russia and Pakistan. On the US side, the US special envoy for Afghanistan, Tom West, is expected to participate, according to Washington.
There is also a meeting of foreign ministers from countries neighboring Afghanistan, who will also meet with the Taliban government. The current Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is traveling for this purpose. Other participating countries are Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.