Moscow: Moscow and Beijing attach great importance to their trilateral dialogue with New Delhi, which can become a 'useful format' for strengthening of international and regional security and facing new global threats and challenges.

"Moscow and Beijing attach great importance to the development of Russia-China-India dialogue, which was launched at 57th UN General Assembly session in New York with the informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the three countries.

"All the sides are in favour of continuing the practice of such meetings," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko told reporters while briefing them on Chinese President Hu Jintao's six- day official visit to Russia.

"Interaction of Russia, China and India may become a useful format for the strengthening of international and regional stability and countering threats and challenges of the contemporary epoch," Yakovenko underscored.

According to diplomatic sources a meeting between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Hu is being arranged in St Petersburg later this week, when they will be attending the gala celebrations of the 300th anniversary of the former imperial capital of Russia.

In St Petersburg President Vladimir Putin is also expected to hold a mini-summit with Vajpayee at which he is likely to brief the Indian leader on his Moscow talks with Hu and Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) summit scheduled for May 29 in Moscow.

India, Pakistan and Iran are also seeking membership of SCO.

PTI