New Delhi: Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov will begin his two-day official visit to New Delhi from Thursday, according to the ministry of external affairs (MEA). Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who will visit India for the first time since Moscow began its military invasion in Ukraine, will stay here till Friday.
Why is Russian foreign minister’s visit significant?
Lavrov will meet external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar during his two-day visit. The visit is seen as a crucial engagement with India since it is held amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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India abstained on UN General Assembly resolutions that strongly deplored Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. India continues to buy Russian oil and other goods despite pressure from Washington. US President Joe Biden last week described India as “somewhat shaky” on Russia.
Lavrov’s visit to India comes at a time when US deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh and British foreign secretary Liz Truss are also visiting the country. German foreign and security policy advisor Jens Plotner is visiting India on Wednesday.
The focus of Lavrov’s visit is likely to remain the purchase of discounted Russian crude oil and putting in place a “rupee-ruble payment system for bilateral trade”, on the back of sanctions impoased by the West against Moscow, PTI reported.
Russian central bank officials are likely to visit India next week to discuss the details of the payment system, according to Bloomberg report. India is also likely to stress on the issue of “timely delivery of various military hardware” and “components of the S-400 missile systems by Russia”.
At present, Lavrov is holding multinational meetings in Tunxi, China, according to the ANI report. Russian foreign minister is also holding multinational talks on Afghanistan along with representatives from Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Russian foreign minister on Wednesday held meetings with representatives from China and Pakistan.
“Those who tried to make Afghanistan centre of the world politics, now try to make Ukraine to replace Afghanistan. And we all understand what it is about,” said Lavrov during talks with his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
The leader is also going to attend a separate meeting of the “Extended Troika” with special Afghan envoys from China and the US.