MOSCOW. Feb 3 (Interfax) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu have met to discuss the expansion of bilateral relations between Moscow and Beijing and the strengthening of foreign policy coordination between the two countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
"The meeting participants gave high marks to the current state of Russian-Chinese relations and reaffirmed their mutual commitment to their progressive development. They discussed the prospects of expansion of bilateral relations in 2023," according to a report published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's website.
The diplomats also "had an in-depth exchange of opinions on some international and regional issues, stated the effectiveness of foreign policy coordination, and outlined steps to strengthen it further," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also reported on consultations between Ma Zhaoxu and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin on Friday evening. "During the talk, they considered with attention various aspects of interaction between Moscow and Beijing in the UN, including in its Security Council and General Assembly, and also some specialized establishments," the ministry said in a report published on is site.
The sides "gave high marks to the traditionally close bilateral cooperation on the UN track" and "demonstrated general commitment to mutual respect for interests and concerns when considering key international issues," the report said.
Vershinin and Ma Zhaoxu gave special attention to "the persistent attempts by representatives of some countries to sabotage the authority of the UN by using its site for pressuring sovereign states, and also creation of alternative non-inclusive mechanisms outside the Organization in line with the concept of 'a world order based on rules'," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "Both sides reaffirmed their readiness to defend the central coordinating role of the UN in global affairs and the supremacy of the universally recognized norms of international law, including by intensifying the work of the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations," the report said.
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