Moscow deems the self-governing island as an integral part of China, the foreign minister has said

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and Russia stands firmly against the island's independence in any form, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

In an interview with TASS published on Sunday, Lavrov stated that Russia believes that "the Taiwan problem is an internal affair" of China and that "Beijing has every right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity".

According to Lavrov, the stand-off over Taiwan is often being discussed "in isolation from reality and by manipulating facts". He noted that some countries, while declaring commitment to the One China policy, de-facto favor preserving the status quo, which actually means "their disagreement with the principle of China's national reunification".

In addition, Taiwan is currently being used as a tool of "military-strategic deterrence" against Beijing, with some Western countries keen to profit from Taiwanese money and technologies, including by selling expensive US armaments to Taipei, the minister said.

Russia's support for China over Taiwan is enshrined in the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation signed between Moscow and Beijing in July 2001, Lavrov recalled, stressing that one of its basic principles is "mutual support in defending national unity and territorial integrity".

Taiwan became a self-ruled territory following the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when Nationalist forces retreated to the island after losing mainland China to Communist forces. While formally adhering to the One China policy, the US maintains close unofficial ties with Taipei - which include visits by top lawmakers - drawing ire from Beijing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized his preference for peaceful reunification with Taiwan but has not ruled out the use of force while denouncing what he described as Taipei's separatism.

Lavrov's statement comes after Russia reaffirmed its support for Venezuela as the country faces a US military blockade in the Caribbean. Washington has accused Venezuelan authorities of having links with drug cartels - a charge Caracas has denied - and has struck boats allegedly transporting narcotics to the US. Washington also seized oil tankers off the Venezuelan coast, a move Caracas has denounced as "piracy."