- Foreign Ministers of Russia and India will hold talks in Moscow
According to TASS, Russia's state-owned news agency article published on November 7, 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will hold talks on Tuesday with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
The top diplomats of Russia and India maintain regular contacts. Lavrov last visited New Delhi in April, and the Indian foreign minister visited Russia in July 2021. Apart from bilateral visits, the two ministers have been using every opportunity to meet during multilateral events at international venues - they last met in this format on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United National General Assembly in late September.
Jaishankar is also expected to meet with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and take part in a meeting of the India-Russia intergovernmental commission for trade, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation. "The visit will be in continuation of high-level bilateral contacts," said Spokesman for the Indian Foreign Ministry Arindam Bagchi.
Ukraine and Afghanistan
The Russian Foreign Ministry said ahead of the talks that the two ministers would exchange opinions on pressing international issues with an emphasis on cooperation as part of the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the G20 as well as in the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral format. The parties will discuss arrangements for India’s SCO presidency, the fight against terrorism and a number of regional issues, including the building of security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, the situation around the Iranian nuclear program and developments in Syria.
According to the Indian Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Jaishankar will reiterate New Delhi’s position on the conflict in Ukraine urging a return to dialogue and diplomacy. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow is aware of this stance and respects it.
Lavrov and Jaishankar will negotiate ahead of a meeting of the Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan scheduled for mid-November that will involve India and other regional players, so the two parties will have another opportunity to synchronize their watches on Afghanistan.
Trade in national currencies
The Russian and Indian foreign ministers will discuss ways to further promote cooperation in key areas, including trade and investments, transport and logistics as well as the use of national currencies in bilateral settlements and promising energy projects, especially in the offshore Arctic and in the Far East.
Russia and India have maintained close cooperation in the military-technical field. Pankaj Agarwal, Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition) at the Indian Department of Defense, said the two sides had been actively involved in work on joint projects. That has been "a long partnership that is of mutual benefit to both countries," the Indian defense official emphasized.
