Foreign Minister Wang Yi chaired the High-Level Video Conference on Belt and Road International Cooperation on Thursday. Russia was predictably not a participant in the event held at the ministerial level. 1/5 https://twitter.com/MID_RF/status/1273668335390134277

Lavrov's greeting was read by Ambassador-at-Large Kirill Barsky, whose portfolio at the MFA includes issues of Eurasian integration. Lowering the level of participation is an exciting phenomenon that will surprise many supporters of the the inevitable Sino-Russian alliance. 2

Moscow's decision is based on realistic assessments of the prospects of the Chinese initiative, and on the fact that the Russian project of the Greater Eurasian Partnership has so far been perceived without much enthusiasm by Beijing. 3

Full list of participants:Belarus, Cambodia, Chile, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Kazakhstan. Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea. Serbia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan 4

Weak EU representation shows that the locomotive of the BRI's transition to a new quality slows down. Expectations that the pandemic will only spur interest in the Chinese initiative somehow have not yet materialized. 5