Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to meet and hold talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday in New Delhi. Lavrov is also expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Lavrov arrived in India on Thursday after his two-day visit to China. Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi welcomed Lavrov at the airport. This is his first trip to India since Russia launched a ‘special military operation’ on Ukraine.
The visit of the Russian foreign minister comes hours after Jaishankar held talks with his visiting British counterpart Liz Truss where the two leaders discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine at length. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi also recently visited New Delhi.
India may press for ensuring timely delivery of various military hardware during the meeting with the Russian foreign minister, a PTI report said. It also added that India may seek timely delivery of components of the S-400 missile systems by Russia.
Lavrov held talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday and both sides pledged to strengthen bilateral ties. The Russian foreign minister participated in two multinational meetings in Afghanistan along with representatives from Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.India so far has maintained a neutral position on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24. India has also abstained from voting on all resolutions moved in the United Nations condemning Russia’s aggression.
Meanwhile, the United States, along with its Western allies have imposed sanctions on Russia for its war in Ukraine. Commenting on Lavrov’s visit to India, US state department spokesman Ned Price said that they are not seeking to change Russia and India’s ties. “Different countries are going to have their own relationship with the Russian Federation. It’s a fact of history. It’s a fact of geography. That is not something that we are seeking to change. What we are seeking to do, whether it is in the context of India or other partners and allies around the world, is to do all we can to see to it that the international community is speaking in unison,” he said.
