Russia Sunday strongly backed India's participation in international efforts towards peace, and its presence in international organisations as the foreign ministers of Russia, India and China met here for a key discussion.
The trilateral meet dwelt on regional and international issues, including Syria, Afghanistan and Iran.
At the 12th Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China (RIC), counter-terrorism, drug trafficking and security in the Asia-Pacific region also figured in talks between External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and his Russian and Chinese counterparts, Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi, at Hyderabad House, in the evening.
Lavrov, addressing the media after their talks, said: "We are very interested in the increasing role of India in international efforts and in international organisations." His comment comes in the background of Russia evincing interest in India's participation in the Geneva II dialogue on Syria.
The three countries found convergence in their views on Syria - that dialogue is the way to solve the long-drawn civil war.
Lavrov said: "We share concerns on Syria and stand for a peaceful solution to the crisis without force." He said Geneva II should convene as "soon as possible" and should represent all segments - meaning that it should include President Bashar al Assad, whose presence the rebels are against.
Russia and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, have continuously thwarted Western efforts to intercede militarily in Syria or for the ouster of the Bashar al-Assad regime. India too has been against military intervention and pressed for dialogue.
Dates for the Geneva II talks have not yet been fixed.
On Afghanistan, Lavrov said the three shared concerns on the situation in the backdrop of the impending drawdown of the US-led international forces next year. He said the international community needs to participate to prevent the escalation of drug trafficking in Afghanistan.
He said the RIC will "make every effort to make Afghanistan a peaceful, prosperous and stable country".
Khurshid said the talks had been "very productive" and RIC is a "platform for closer cooperation and convergence on important regional and global issues".
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang said the three countries are bordered by three oceans, and represent 40 percent of the world population, and have 22 percent of the world's land mass and also comprise of the major markets of the world.
He said cooperation between the three would not only benefit their people, but the world.
"Our practical cooperation will add impetus to global growth and generate peace and stability in the world," he said.
Lavrov said he believes that RIC is an "efficient mechanism for consolidated development of the regional and international agenda" and a platform for discussing "very important issues" concerning the Asia-Pacific, especially security.
On the Iranian nuclear issue and the talks between Iran and the six global powers in Geneva, Lavrov said the new Iranian government under President Hassan Rouhani is "decisive" and the talks were concentrated on searching for a mutually acceptable decision on the issue.
He said Russia had conveyed at the Iran talks that there is "no alternative to negotiations" and that "using sanctions as a means of pressing a point should be given up, to proceed in a business-like method".
He said the US had played a major role in working out a common approach at the Iran talks, which concluded in Geneva Sunday without arriving at a solution.
