Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will arrive in India on Thursday for a two-day visit, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. This would be Lavrov’s first trip to India since Russia invaded Ukraine last month.
The prospects of India buying discounted Russian crude oil is expected to be on the agenda during Lavrov’s visit to Delhi, PTI reported On March 16, the Indian government had said it was exploring options to buy Russian crude oil as its prices have tumbled to the lowest amid the Ukrainian conflict.
The discussions with Lavrov could also feature formulating a rupee-ruble payment mechanism for bilateral trade between India and Russia amid sanctions against Moscow by Western nations. India is also likely to discuss about the timely delivery of the military equipment and components of the S-400 missile systems by Moscow, PTI reported.
Lavrov’s trip to India coincides with that of British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, US Deputy National Security Advisor for international economics Daleep Singh and German Foreign and Security Policy Advisor Jens Plotner.
Both Plotner and Singh arrived in India on Wednesday. Truss will arrive in the country on Thursday and hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, according to PTI.
So far, India has abstained on a series of United Nations votes condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held phone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, March 2 and March 7. Modi has also spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on two occasions since the war started.
On March 21, United States President Joe Biden had said that India’s response to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has been “somewhat shaky”.
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