Russias foreign minister said attempts were being made to provoke a serious clash between the Asian giants

The West is attempting to provoke tensions between India and China by pitting them against each other, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, according to TASS.

"Take note of the current developments in the Asia-Pacific region, which the West has started calling the Indo-Pacific region to give its policy a clear anti-China orientation - expecting thereby to additionally make our great friends and neighbours India and China clash," Lavrov was cited as saying on Thursday at a meeting of the 'Culture without Borders' diplomatic club.

Lavrov also claimed Western countries are attempting to diminish the influence of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the region.

ASEAN is a grouping of ten countries in Southeast Asia - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam - which aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its members.

"Western colleagues, as in any other part of the world, want to play a major role here, they want to undermine the central role of ASEAN, which has suited everyone for many, many decades and was based on the formation of a unifying space by the ASEAN countries and their partners in dialogue both in the field of politics and in the field of military cooperation, in the field of defense," Lavrov was quoted as saying by TASS.

According to the top Russian diplomat, Western countries are gradually disregarding the principles of consensus, and instead trying to persuade some ASEAN member states to participate in confrontational alliances, such as small groups and coalitions, rather than unified formats.

Lavrov advocated for a collective security system in Eurasia, noting that the region is unique in that it is home to numerous coexisting civilizations that have maintained their distinct identities and relevance in the modern era.

He emphasized that Eurasia lacked a continent-wide framework, and that therefore a unification process was necessary to harmonize the interests of the region's major powers and civilizations.

Lavrov pointed out that other continents have established regional organizations, such as the African Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which exist in addition to sub-regional formats. In contrast, Eurasia currently lacks a similar continent-wide organization, he added.

(RT.com)