India, Russia begin bilateral talks in Moscow

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov began bilateral talks in Moscow on December 27.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov began bilateral talks in Moscow on December 27.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Lavrov said India and Russia ties are historic and has been moving consistently forward. “Our ties are also strengthened by our stands at UN, SCO and BRICS. Both Russia and India want an open and fair international system,” he said.

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Meanwhile, Mr. Jaishankar said, “Relations have been strong and steady, living up to responsibility of a special and privileged strategic partnership. We will discuss the international situation, development challenges for the Global South and multilateralism, multipolarity during discussions.

Shortly after landing in Moscow on December 25, Mr. Jaishankar visited the Kremlin, posting an entry pass in his name from a 1962 commemoration for the first Russian cosmonauts in space at the Red Square, where he visited as a seven-year-old boy, along with a current picture of himself at the Red Square amidst sub-zero temperatures, entitling it “How it started”, and “How it is going”. 

Mr. Jaishankar’s Russia travel comes in lieu of the annual summit due to be held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, an unbroken tradition from the year 2000 till 2021, which the two sides have now skipped for the second year in a row, ostensibly due to the Ukraine conflict. However, both Mr. Putin and Mr. Modi have made several trips abroad during the year to other countries, making the omission of the annual summit significant. Another possible meeting, due to be held at the SCO summit in Delhi in July this year was put off after New Delhi decided to convert it into a virtual summit.