RIC back on the table? India hints at trilateral revival with Russia, China
India's position came after a fresh push by Russia to bring the RIC format back into motion
- Jul 17, 2025,
- Updated Jul 17, 2025 10:35 PM IST
India on Thursday indicated its willingness to consider reviving the long-stalled Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral dialogue, in response to renewed interest from Moscow and Beijing. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the decision on resumption would be taken only if convenient to all parties involved.
"RIC is a consultative format, which is a mechanism where three countries come together to discuss global and regional issues of interest to them," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing. "The schedule will be worked out among the three countries, in a mutually convenient manner."
India's position came after a fresh push by Russia to bring the RIC format back into motion. On Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told Izvestia that Moscow is "negotiating on this issue with Beijing and New Delhi." He said: "We are interested in making this format work, because these three countries are important partners, besides the founders of BRICS."
"In this regard, we expect that the countries will agree to resume work within the framework of the RIC—of course, when relations between these states reach a level that allows them to work in a trilateral format," Rudenko added.
The Chinese foreign ministry also backed the proposal. Spokesperson Lin Jian said: "China-Russia-India cooperation not only serves the respective interests of the three countries but also helps uphold peace, security, stability and progress in the region and the world.” He added that China “stands ready to maintain communication with Russia and India on advancing the trilateral cooperation."
The renewed interest in the RIC format comes in the backdrop of recent high-level engagement between the three nations. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited China earlier this week to attend the SCO foreign ministers' meet, where he held discussions with his counterparts Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov. This followed earlier visits by NSA Ajit Doval and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
RIC engagements had remained suspended since 2020, after the India-China military standoff in Eastern Ladakh and the deadly Galwan Valley clash. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov had last year cited the pandemic and the border crisis as reasons for the hiatus. However, following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, a cautious normalisation process has been underway.
Experts say Russia is keen to stabilise the trilateral dynamic given India’s deepening defence and strategic ties with the West, including the Quad and the European Union. Moscow also sees the RIC format as a counterweight to Western alignments, especially in the Eurasian region.
Lidia Kulik, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia that "any format of cooperation in Eurasia is useful because the continent has long been tired of endless conflicts." She added that Russia’s involvement could create new prospects, even as India and China continue to navigate bilateral challenges.
(With inputs from PTI)
India on Thursday indicated its willingness to consider reviving the long-stalled Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral dialogue, in response to renewed interest from Moscow and Beijing. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the decision on resumption would be taken only if convenient to all parties involved.
"RIC is a consultative format, which is a mechanism where three countries come together to discuss global and regional issues of interest to them," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing. "The schedule will be worked out among the three countries, in a mutually convenient manner."
India's position came after a fresh push by Russia to bring the RIC format back into motion. On Thursday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told Izvestia that Moscow is "negotiating on this issue with Beijing and New Delhi." He said: "We are interested in making this format work, because these three countries are important partners, besides the founders of BRICS."
"In this regard, we expect that the countries will agree to resume work within the framework of the RIC—of course, when relations between these states reach a level that allows them to work in a trilateral format," Rudenko added.
The Chinese foreign ministry also backed the proposal. Spokesperson Lin Jian said: "China-Russia-India cooperation not only serves the respective interests of the three countries but also helps uphold peace, security, stability and progress in the region and the world.” He added that China “stands ready to maintain communication with Russia and India on advancing the trilateral cooperation."
The renewed interest in the RIC format comes in the backdrop of recent high-level engagement between the three nations. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited China earlier this week to attend the SCO foreign ministers' meet, where he held discussions with his counterparts Wang Yi and Sergey Lavrov. This followed earlier visits by NSA Ajit Doval and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
RIC engagements had remained suspended since 2020, after the India-China military standoff in Eastern Ladakh and the deadly Galwan Valley clash. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov had last year cited the pandemic and the border crisis as reasons for the hiatus. However, following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan, a cautious normalisation process has been underway.
Experts say Russia is keen to stabilise the trilateral dynamic given India’s deepening defence and strategic ties with the West, including the Quad and the European Union. Moscow also sees the RIC format as a counterweight to Western alignments, especially in the Eurasian region.
Lidia Kulik, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia that "any format of cooperation in Eurasia is useful because the continent has long been tired of endless conflicts." She added that Russia’s involvement could create new prospects, even as India and China continue to navigate bilateral challenges.
(With inputs from PTI)