S Jaishankar arrives in Delhi after two-day visit to Russia

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar landed in Delhi on Wednesday after his two-day visit to Russia, where he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and held talks with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.

Earlier on Tuesday, Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov held talks in Moscow covering a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interests.

External Affair Minister with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia

Addressing a press briefing alongside the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Jaishnkar said he exchanged views on international issues with the Russian side, in which the Ukraine conflict was the dominant feature.

Laying out India’s position on the Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar said, “As Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Russian President Putin, this is not an era of war. The global economy is simply too interdependent for significant conflict anywhere not to have major consequences elsewhere.”

With Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, Jaishankar explored cooperation in trade, investments, energy, fertilisers, pharma, agriculture and shipping.

S Jaishankar Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov of Russia.

Jaishankar noted that his objective in coming to Moscow is to sit down with the Russian leadership to assess how India-Russia ties are doing.
“My objective in coming here today is to sit down with Russian foreign minister Lavrov and Deputy PM Manturov to assess how we are doing. There are challenges, that we need to address and prospects that we are exploring,” he said.

Jaishankar reached Russia on Monday in continuation of the regular high-level dialogue between the two sides.

Since the start of the Ukraine conflict earlier this year, India’s bilateral ties with Russia have come under the scanner of the West for a surge in oil imports from sanctions-hit Moscow. The war in Ukraine which has continued for more than eight months has had a significant impact on global food security and has led to a sudden increase in crude prices.

Notably, India has not condemned Russia since the start of the conflict and has maintained its independent position. On several UN forums, New Delhi has consistently called for a cessation of violence and advocated peace and diplomacy. (ANI)