Russian FM Lavrov makes first visit to China since Ukraine war

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in China for talks on Afghanistan, marking his first visit to the Asian country since Moscow launched a military operation in Ukraine last month.

The Russian embassy in Beijing confirmed in a post on its Weibo social media account on Wednesday that Lavrov had landed in the eastern city of Huangshan, posting photos of delegates descending from a plane and being met by health officials in hazmat suits.

Lavrov is due to attend the third edition of a gathering of the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries in Tunxi, an ancient town in East China's Anhui province.

Top diplomats or representatives from Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are scheduled to attend the event.

Taliban acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, will also be present at the gathering hosted by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Qatar and Indonesia will attend as guests.

The event’s first and second editions were respectively hosted by Pakistan and the Islamic Republic last year.

Iran, China back Afghanistan’s independence, national unity: FM

Iran’s foreign minister says the country and China back Afghanistan’s independence and national unity.

According to China’s foreign ministry, the Russian foreign minister will also take part in a separate meeting of the “Extended Troika” with special envoys on Afghanistan from China and the United States

“China, the US, Russia and Pakistan are all countries with significant influence on the Afghan issue,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said of the Troika meeting at a regular press conference on Tuesday.  

Afghanistan has been in turmoil since the Taliban, who had previously ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, took power again on August 15 last year and subsequently announced the formation of a caretaker government.

The group’s resurgence came amid hasty and chaotic departure of American forces from the Central Asian country.

The United States and its allies have largely suspended their financial assistance to Afghanistan, adding fuel to a refugee crisis that has dramatically affected Afghanistan’s neighbors.

The administration of US President Joe Biden has frozen nearly $9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank since the withdrawal of its occupation forces.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have also suspended activities in Afghanistan, withholding aid as well as $340 million in new reserves issued by the IMF.

Columbia University political scientist Alexander Cooley, an expert on Central Asia, said China will seek to position itself as the leading champion for humanitarian assistance and economic development projects in Afghanistan at this week’s gatherings, adding that it will openly call for the US to unfreeze the Afghan government’s assets and accounts.

Meanwhile, Russia’s offensive against Ukraine is also likely to loom large over proceedings.

West ramps up pressure on Russia; China, India non-committal

Western leaders have stepped up pressure on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine, agreeing to increase military aid to Kiev and tighten their sanctions on Moscow.

It is not clear whether Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart will meet outside of the Afghanistan talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24. The conflict has provoked a unanimous response from Western countries, which have imposed a long list of sanctions on Moscow.

Unlike many Western countries, China has refused to condemn Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

Beijing has repeatedly voiced opposition to the sanctions, insisting it will maintain normal economic and trade exchanges with Russia.

On Monday, Lavrov said Russia's relations with China are at their strongest level ever, at a time when Western nations are seeking to isolate Moscow with unprecedented sanctions over Ukraine.

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