AMN / WEB DESK
INDIA’S External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov reviewed the entire gamut of India-Russia bilateral relations during their meeting in Moscow today. In a joint press briefing after the talks, Dr Jaishankar highlighted that relations between India and Russia have been among the steadiest of the major relationships of the world after the Second World War. He added that geopolitical convergence, leadership contacts and popular sentiments remain the key drivers of India-Russia partnership.
Both Ministers reaffirmed shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner, including by increasing India’s exports to Russia.
Both Ministers also spoke about connectivity initiatives, including the International North South Transport Corridor, the Chennai Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor and cooperation in the northern sea route. Dr Jaishankar remarked that these corridors promise to deepen economic linkages, reduce transit times and expand trade access across Eurasia and beyond. He stated that defence and military technical cooperation also remains robust, and Russia supports India’s Make In India goals including joint production and technology transfer.
The External Affairs Minister emphasised that the opening of two new Indian Consulates in Kazan and Yekaterinburg needs to be fastracked. He said the issue of Indians serving in the Russian army was also taken up. He hoped that the Russian side expeditiously resolves these matters. On global and multilateral cooperation, Dr Jaishankar said both sides reaffirmed shared commitment to reform of global governance. Both sides underlined the imperative to expand and enegise the UN Security Council to reflect contemporary realities. The External Affairs Minister said they discussed developments in Ukraine, West Asia, Afghanistan and stated that India’s approach continues to emphasise dialogue and diplomacy as essential to resolving differences. On terrorism, both sides resolved to fight jointly against all forms and manifestations of terrorism. The External Affairs Minister conveyed India’s strong resolve to adopt Zero Tolerance Policy against terrorism and India’s sovereign right to defend its citizens against terrorism.
Replying to media queries, Dr Jaishankar stressed that India is not the biggest purchaser of Russian oil and nor the biggest purchaser of Russian LNG. He highlighted that India is also not the country which had the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022. He pointed out that India also buys oil from US and that amount is increasing.
Replying to another query, Dr Jaishankar said the terms of reference for the India – Eurasian Economic Union FTA have been signed. He hoped that the negotiations would commence on FTA soon. He said both nations have gone forward in trade, looking at trade barriers, greater market access, energy, including nuclear energy.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, Dr Jaishankar said the meeting is an occasion to discuss political relationship and review bilateral ties. He said the global context of their meeting today is the evolving geopolitical situation, shifting economic and trade landscape and shared goals to maximise complementarities. He expressed confidence that the exchange of views today will contribute to making the India Russia Annual Summit as outcome oriented as possible. With input from Parsar Bharti