BEIJING, June 25 (AFP) - China's foreign minister Qin Gang met with Russia's deputy foreign minister Andrey Rudenko in Beijing on Sunday, China said, in the first public meeting of diplomats from the two countries since mutinous mercenaries threatened to storm the Russian capital.

"Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Rudenko in Beijing and exchanged views with him on China-Russia relations," China's foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the two also discussed "international and regional issues of common concern".