Russia, China, India jointly slam Western trade protectionism, sanctions

The foreign ministers of Russia, China, and India have jointly slammed the West's trade protectionism and unilateral sanctions against countries.

Citing Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, TASS news agency said on Friday that Russia, India, and China had united in the repudiation of trade protectionism and politically-motivated sanctions by Western countries.

Lavrov made the remark during a virtual meeting held within the trilateral RIC (Russia, India, China) framework.

The Russian diplomat held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, and Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who chaired the talks on Friday.

"The RIC format remains one of the key factors of global and regional policy… in the Asia-Pacific region," Lavrov said.

"The development of our 'troika' is an integral part of the process to shape a more just and democratic multipolar world order with UN coordination," he added.

The Russian diplomat said that given the circumstances brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, the system of international relations was facing daunting challenges in the field of socio-economic development. "The virus triggered a crisis in global management. A rise in protectionist and isolationist views has become a serious test of strength for countries and multilateral associations," he said.

His remarks came after the US Department of Commerce sanctioned 28 organizations from China, Russia, Pakistan, Japan, and Singapore. Under the sanctions, suppliers will not be able to deal with companies on the list unless they have received a special license to do so.

The US has imposed more than 90 rounds of sanctions on Russia in recent years. The measures have targeted state banks and corporations, the oil and gas sector, and top officials and business tycoons.

SS