Russia, India, China, trilateral on SCO sidelines

QUOTE: “Terrorism poses a serious threat and drug trafficking and organised crimes are on the rise”- Vladimir Putin, Russian Prez

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Moscow, September 10

The Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC) on Thursday held trilateral talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Moscow.

“Attended the RIC Foreign Ministers Meeting hosted by FM (Sergey) Lavrov in Moscow. Thank him for his warm hospitality. India takes on the Chair of the RIC process,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted along with a photograph of his Russian and Chinese counterparts.

Under the RIC framework, the Foreign Ministers of the three countries meet periodically to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues of their interest. Jaishankar is in Moscow on a four-day visit to attend the meeting of SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) Foreign Ministers of which both India and China are members.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a video-conference with the Foreign Ministers of the eight-member (SCO), expressed confidence in SCO’s ability to respond to new challenges. “Terrorism poses a serious threat and drug trafficking and organised crimes are on the rise,” he said as he expressed confidence in the SCO’s ability to respond promptly to these “new acute challenges.”

The SCO, he said, played a key role in ensuring peace and security as well as sustainable development in Eurasia. “To reiterate, the security situation in Eurasia and neighbouring regions still requires special attention on the part of the SCO”, he said. PTI