Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit New Delhi from April 5-6, spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said on Thursday.
“On April 5-6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will pay a working visit to New Delhi, during which he will hold talks with his counterpart (External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar),” the spokesperson said at a briefing, according to a Sputnik report.
“The heads of the foreign affairs agencies will discuss the current state of bilateral relations, the preparation of the upcoming high-level meeting this year, including cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, will consider key topics on the regional, global agenda, assess approaches to the interaction between Russia and India on the international arena, including at the UN, BRICS,” Zakharova added.
Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited Russia in February this year where he met Foreign Minister Lavrov and discussed wide-ranging Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries and ways to further strengthen it.
Shringla said they discussed some regional and international issues of interest including cooperation in the UN and UNSC where India is a non-permanent member. “We also spoke about issues like Afghanistan, which both countries have a direct interest,” he said.
The Russian foreign minister’s visit to India comes at the heels of a three-day visit from US Defence Secretary Llyod J Austin III last month. During his visit, Austin had hinted that buying the S-400 missile system from Russia may invite sanctions on India.
The focus of Lavrov’s visit is going to be on pending defence ventures including the S-400 Air Defence System, the manufacturing of the AK-47 203 rifles locally in India, production of helicopters in India, the long pending P-75i submarine project and other related projects.
Also on the agenda of talks would be the forthcoming BRICS summit, the Indo-Pacific Region, the US-led Quad initiative, peace talks in Afghanistan, as well as other issues of mutual interest.
After visiting India, Lavrov will reportedly travel to Pakistan on a two-day visit from April 6-7.
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