Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Jul 18: India on Thursday adopted a cautious stance on the proposed revival of the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral mechanism, saying any forward movement would depend on the mutual convenience of all three nations involved.

The statement from New Delhi followed a strong pitch by Beijing in support of Russia’s call to revive the dialogue platform, which it said would contribute to regional peace and stability.

“This consultative format is a mechanism where the three countries come and discuss global issues and regional matters of interest to them,” said Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, during a weekly media briefing.

“As to when this particular RIC format meeting is going to be held, it is something that will be worked out among the three countries in a mutually convenient manner,” he added, signaling that India is not opposed to the format but remains non-committal for now.

Official sources further clarified that no RIC meeting is currently scheduled, nor are there any active discussions underway to fix a date.

Earlier in the day, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said Moscow is actively pursuing the resumption of the RIC mechanism, which he termed as “important,” given the three countries are not only strategic partners but also co-founders of BRICS.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry echoed the sentiment, with spokesperson Lin Jian stating, “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.”

The RIC framework, once an influential trilateral format, has been on hold for years — first due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and later because of the India-China border standoff in Eastern Ladakh, which significantly strained bilateral ties between the two Asian powers.

With geopolitical dynamics shifting and BRICS expanding, observers say the revival of RIC could present an opportunity for strategic recalibration, but only if trust and alignment among the three powers are restored.