Revive Russia, India, China troika: Russian FM

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that his country was genuinely interested in the revival of the framework of the Russia-India-China (RIC) format.

Citing the understanding reached between India and China to ease situation on their borders, Lavrov said, “It seems to me that the time has come for the revival of this RIC troika.”

He also accused NATO of trying to lure India into anti-China intrigues. The Russian Foreign Minister cited what he said were ‘confidential conversations with India’ and added, “I have no doubts that our Indian friends obviously see this trend that can be actually deemed as a large provocation (by China).”

Following the June 2020 Galwan clash between militaries of India and China, the RIC troika has not been active.

The Russian Foreign Minister was addressing an ‘International Social and Political Conference on Forming a Single and Equitable System of Security and Cooperation in Eurasia’ in the city of Perm in the Ural mountains, where Europe borders Asia.

“I would like to confirm our genuine interest in the earliest resumption of work within the format of the troika — Russia, India, China — which was established many years ago on the initiative of Yevgeny Primakov (a former Russian Prime Minister). It has organised more than 20 meetings at the ministerial level, not only at the level of foreign policy chiefs, but also the heads of other economic, trade and financial agencies of the three countries,” TASS quoted Lavrov.