Jaishankar, Lavrov Review India-Russia Ties; Discuss SCO, G20, BRICS

BENAULIME (GOA): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday conducted a comprehensive review of the ‘special and privileged strategic partnership’ between India and Russia against the backdrop of Moscow’s increasingly chilly relations with the West over the Ukraine crisis.

The two foreign ministers held an hour-long meeting at a beach resort here in Benaulim on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting.

A Russian statement said that the two sides agreed to continue working towards building a “fair, multipolar system of relations between states.” Lavrov arrived here for a two-day visit on Thursday, a day after Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with drones in a failed attempt. Attempt to kill President Vladimir Putin.

A comprehensive review of our bilateral, global and multilateral cooperation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He appreciated Russia’s support for the Indian presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Also discuss issues related to G20 and BRICS,” Jaishankar said in a tweet.

The Russian statement said the two foreign ministers hailed the dynamics of cooperation in key areas of the special and distinguished strategic partnership between India and Russia.

The statement said that “views were exchanged on the basis of confidence on the main issues of bilateral relations, including the timetable for future contacts, as well as topical issues on the global and regional agenda.”

The statement added that “the intention was emphasized to further strengthen coordination to develop common approaches within the framework of interaction in the most important international platforms, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BRICS group, the United Nations and the Group of Twenty.”

There was no official word on whether trade-related issues came up in the talks. India has been pressuring Russia to urgently address the trade imbalance in Moscow’s favour.

India’s trade deficit with Russia has jumped significantly in the past few months after it bought large quantities of discounted crude oil from that country on the back of the Ukraine crisis.

India’s economic engagement with Russia has seen a major pickup in the past year, largely due to its purchases of discounted Russian oil.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and has been pushing for a solution to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

Russia also strongly supports India’s presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest international organizations across the region.

The SCO was established at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India and Pakistan became permanent members in 2017.

India was appointed as an observer in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2005 and has generally participated in the group’s ministerial-level meetings, which mainly focus on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.

India has shown great interest in deepening security-related cooperation within the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and its Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which deals specifically with issues related to security and defence.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is republished from a syndicated news agency feed.)