Lavrov arrives in Beijing ahead of Belt and Road forum

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in the Chinese capital on Monday, starting his visit to Beijing which will host its third Belt and Road international forum, Azernews reports, citing TASS.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed he was planning to attend the forum. While in Beijing, Lavrov is expected to hold talks with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, too, said he was ready to meet with his Russian counterpart. He told TASS he expected to discuss the Palestine-Israel conflict with Lavrov.

The Belt and Road initiative was proposed by Xi Jinping in 2013 to boost economic and trade investment projects involving as many countries as possible. More than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations have already joined it. China’s third Belt and Road Forum will take place in Beijing on October 17-18.