RUSSIA: Lavrov To Meet w/China Rep Amid Backlash At NK Troops In Ukraine

(MNI) London - Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been speaking at a meeting of the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security taking place presently in the Belarusian capital (the event is billed as a Eurasian counter to the Munich Security Conference). 

• Lavrov confirms that he will meet with China's special representative on Eurasian affairs Li Hui. The meeting comes amid Western outcry at the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia's Kursk region, which is subject to an incursion by Ukrainian forces. Given its proximity and long-standing relationship, China is viewed as a major influence on the Kim regime in Pyongyang. As RFE/RL notes, "North Korea’s involvement is a wild card and something of a strategic headache for Beijing. North Korea’s closer relationship with Moscow could spell less Chinese influence over Pyongyang, [...]. Adding thousands of North Korean soldiers to the Ukraine war could also stoke geopolitical tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the wider Indo-Pacific region, including Japan and Australia."
• Lavrov also says that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is expected to visit Moscow before year-end, with the two countries set to sign a treaty on closer defence cooperation. Closer security ties between Moscow and Tehran remain a significant concern for Kyiv, given Iran's supply of drones and missiles to Russia, and NATO, with closer cooperation seen as a threat to security in the Middle East and enabling both Russia and Iran to potentially evade sanctions.