Relations between Russia and China have reached an "unprecedented" level, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday following talks with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing.
Lavrov said cooperation between the nations "exceeds ... the military-political alliances of the Cold War, and is not directed against any third party."
In other news, Russian authorities are scrambling to deal with massive flooding in the south of the country, with thousands of homes flooded after the Ural River, Europe's third-longest river, burst through a dam last Friday.
Floodwaters are expected to rise today in the Orenburg region, putting parts of the region's capital at risk, Russian news agencies reported.