External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday arrived in Moscow on a five-day visit to Russia during which he will hold talks with his counterpart and discuss various bilateral and global issues.
“Arrived in Moscow. Look forward to my engagements,” Jaishankar said in a post on X.
He will be in Russia from December 25 to 29 as part of the ongoing high-level exchanges between the two countries, as announced by the government.
During his visit, he will meet his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stated that discussions between EAM Jaishankar and Russian Deputy PM Manturov will focus on economic engagement. Additionally, EAM Jaishankar will engage with FM Lavrov on various bilateral, multilateral, and international matters.
Jaishankar’s visit to Russia will include engagements in Moscow and St Petersburg. The MEA emphasised the stable and resilient nature of the ties between India and Russia.
The MEA’s press release stated, “Focusing on the strong people-to-people and cultural ties between our two countries, EAM’s programme will include engagements in Moscow and in St Petersburg.”
“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,” it added.
Speaking about the stability of the India-Russia relationship, Jaishankar previously described it as ‘exceptional and steady’, adding that in many ways Moscow’s relationship with the West has ‘broken down.’
“If you consider international relations over the last 70 years, the US-Russian relations, the China-Russia relations, the US-China relations; pretty much every big relationship in the last 70 years has seen a great deal of volatility; you had sharp ups and downs,” Jaishankar said while addressing the Hudson University.
“India-Russia relations are very exceptional. It’s been very steady,” he added.
Noting that India-Russia relations may “not be spectacular,” Jaishankar said they have stabilized at a certain level but have not seen the ups and downs that Moscow’s relationships with China, the US, or Europe have been through. He added, “And that’s in itself a statement.”
“Now, if one looks at Russia today…as a consequence of what is going on in Ukraine…it seems to them clear that in many ways Russia’s relationship with the West has broken down,” he said.
On why Russia’s emphasis on India is increasing, Jaishankar said, “India will and has come into calculations as well. So I would predict a Russia that would consciously focus on the non-Western world away from Europe and away from the United States, look much more at Asia, and possibly look at other regions as well.”
“But Asia is economically the most active. So I guess that is what you are going to see,” he added.
Inputs: ANI
