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Jaishankar reaches Russia on a 5-day trip to Moscow & St Petersburg furthering strategic ties

5 months ago
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jaishankar in russia

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reached Russia on Monday on a five-day trip to Moscow and St Petersburg to further bilateral strategic agreements across sectors, including defence, energy and trade, currencies, connectivity initiatives and Indian investments in far-east Russia.

During his stay in Moscow, Mr Jaishankar will hold talks with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov and will also discuss various bilateral and global issues.

The last visit of EAM Jaishankar to Russia was in November 2022, during which he engaged in discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.

“Arrived in Moscow. Look forward to my engagements,” Mr Jaishankar said in a post on X along with a picture.

In another post, Mr Jaishankar shared his 1962 invite, when he was a child, to celebrate space exploration by Soviet cosmonauts. Interestingly, Jaishankar’s first posting as an IFS (Indian Forest Service) officer was to Moscow.

Discussion on Connectivity, Multilateralism and Regional conflicts:

He interacted with leading representatives of the Russian strategic community and discussed connectivity, multilateralism, big power competition and regional conflicts.

It was an open and forward-looking interaction with the Russian strategic community. Talks were held on the importance of rebalancing and the emergence of multipolarity.

“Geopolitics and strategic convergence will always keep India-Russia ties on a positive trajectory,” said Jaishankar.

A comprehensive and productive meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov of Russia was also held to discuss bilateral economic cooperation.

It is important to note that, after the war in Ukraine broke out, PM Modi did not travel to Russia for the annual summit last year, and Putin could not come for the G20 summit in Delhi in September this year.

While it was the Indian Prime Minister’s turn to visit Russia for the annual summit, the visit has not taken place this year as well. According to some sources, no reasons have been cited so far, and “scheduling” has been the key challenge.

Also Read: Bharat needs to redefine International Relations and Construct a New Narrative: Foreign Minister Jaishankar

India-Russia Relations:

India and Russia have a longstanding and extensive cooperation in the defense sector, which has progressed from a traditional buyer-seller model to encompass joint research, development, and production of advanced defense technologies and systems.

India heavily relies on Russia for defense supplies, accounting for approximately 60 to 70 percent of its needs, although efforts are underway in Delhi to diversify its sources.

In the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India has strategically procured Russian oil at discounted rates, providing a buffer against inflationary pressures on domestic oil prices.

While India has not explicitly denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has condemned the Bucha massacre and expressed apprehension regarding the nuclear rhetoric emanating from Russian leaders.

Russia is also an important partner for India in the area of peaceful use of nuclear energy. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is a flagship project between India and Russia in this sphere. KNPP Units 1 & 2 have already become operational and construction of Units 3 & 4 and 5 & 6 is going on.

The cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of outer space dates back to about four decades. The two countries are cooperating closely under India’s first human spaceflight program “Gaganyaan”.

Even on most of the times, Putin has been appreciative of the Indian position several times, and praised Modi’s stance, in the face of western pressure, publicly. 

Delhi has underlined that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue. Modi had, in September last year, told Putin that “this is not the era of war”.

“The time-tested India-Russia partnership has remained stable and resilient and continues to be characterized by the spirit of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in New Delhi on Sunday.

The MEA also said, “Focusing on the strong people-to-people and cultural ties between our two countries, the external affairs minister’s programme will include engagements in Moscow and St. Petersburg,”.

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