Lavrov says Russia can 'compensate' for China's resource gap from Iran war: Russian state media
Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov reportedly said that President Vladimir Putin will visit China in the first half of the year.
This handout picture posted on the Telegram account of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Apr 15, 2026 shows Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shaking hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing. (Photo: AFP)
BEIJING: Russia's foreign minister said that his country could make up for China's energy shortages as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is choked by the US-Israeli war with Iran, Russian state media reported on Wednesday (Apr 15).
"Russia can, without a doubt, compensate for the shortfall in resources that has arisen" for China and "other countries that are interested in working with us", Sergei Lavrov said at a news conference in Beijing, in response to a question about the Hormuz blockage.
Russia and China's close economic and political partnership has deepened since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Lavrov, who began a two-day visit to Beijing on Tuesday and met President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, characterised the bilateral relationship as "unshakable in the face of any storms", Russia's TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies reported.
Ties between the countries "play a stabilising role in world affairs" and are "becoming increasingly important ... for the global majority that does not want problems or turbulence", he said.
Lavrov also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China in the first half of the year, Moscow's TASS state news agency reported.
Lavrov's visit comes during the same week as a string of foreign leaders meet with Xi in the Chinese capital, including To Lam of Vietnam and Pedro Sanchez of Spain.
