MOSCOW, August 29 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and China’s ambassador to Moscow, Li Hui, met in Moscow on Thursday to discuss recent international developments regarding the conflict in Syria.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the meeting had been held upon a request from the Chinese side and an emphasis was placed on issues of “further Russian-Chinese political and diplomatic cooperation in connection with the acute deterioration of the situation concerning Syria.”
Western powers are debating armed intervention in the two-year civil war after an apparent nerve gas attack that the Syrian opposition claimed was carried out by government forces and killed nearly 1,300 people. The Syrian government quickly denied the allegations and said it had evidence of rebel groups using chemical weapons.
Moscow and Beijing, both permanent members of the UN Security Council and purported allies of Syrian President Bashar Assad, have repeatedly blocked resolutions that would have paved the way for foreign military intervention.
