India Non-Committal on Revival of RIC Talks Despite Push from Russia and China

New Delhi, July 17, 2025 — India on Thursday signaled caution over reviving the long-dormant Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral talks, stating that any such move would only happen at a “mutually convenient” time. The government made it clear that no meeting has been scheduled yet, despite public signals from Moscow and Beijing suggesting readiness to resume dialogue.

The matter surfaced after Russia’s deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko expressed hope about the RIC mechanism resuming soon, noting that Moscow is already in discussions with both India and China. “We are interested in making this format work,” he said, underlining that all three nations are founding members of BRICS and share strategic interests.

China, too, responded positively. Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that Beijing is willing to communicate with both New Delhi and Moscow to promote trilateral cooperation. “This serves the interests of the three countries and helps safeguard regional and global peace and stability,” he stated.

However, India’s External Affairs Ministry was notably cautious. At a routine briefing, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that no decision has been taken yet. “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,” he said. He emphasized that discussions within the RIC typically cover global and regional issues of shared interest.

People familiar with the situation confirmed that there have been no concrete talks or scheduling of a new RIC meeting so far. The format, dormant since border tensions between India and China flared in 2020, had seen no movement despite repeated nudges from Russia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had earlier hinted at a possible revival of the mechanism, pointing to improving India-China ties. He cited the pandemic and the border standoff as key reasons for the hiatus in RIC engagement.

The RIC forum, once seen as a symbolic bridge between three of Eurasia’s biggest powers, now appears to be in diplomatic limbo — pending further progress in India-China relations.