Moscow preparing for Putin’s India visit, Lavrov says

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to visit India, and preparations for his visit are currently ‘underway’, foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said this week.

Lavrov made the statement regarding Putin’s visit during a virtual address to the ‘Russia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda’ international conference on Thursday, but did not announce the exact date.

The Russian foreign minister said Modi’s decision to choose Moscow as a destination for his first overseas visit in July 2024 following his re-election sent a “powerful message”

“The ball is now in our court. President Vladimir Putin accepted the invitation he received from India’s Prime Minister. Efforts to prepare the President’s visit to the Republic of India are underway,” he added.

In 2024, Indo-Russian bilateral trade exceeded $60 billion. Both the countries have set an objective of increasing trade to $100 billion by 2030.

Bilateral relations rely on a solid economic foundation and both the countries have been consistent in expanding trade and economic ties, while also “effectively fending off attempts by certain ill-wishers to create impediments for us,” Lavrov said, without naming any country.

Lavrov said Moscow appreciates Indian diplomacy and welcomes its commitment to following an independent, multi-directional foreign policy, while pointing out that Moscow is grateful “for Delhi’s constructive contribution to holding the historical BRICS Summit in Kazan in October 2024 as part of Russia’s BRICS chairmanship.”

The minister said that while all countries must adhere to the principles as set forth in the UN Charter, they must comply with its provisions in full and considering their interconnected nature, instead of using a selective approach.

Expressing gratitude toward India for following a balanced approach to the Ukraine crisis at all times, Lavrov backed India’s call for settling the row through dialogue and by addressing its root causes.

He said Russia fully shares this approach and has been expressing its readiness to hold talks from the moment this crisis started.

While reiterating Moscow’s stance on Ukraine, Lavrov said that the root causes of the Ukraine crisis include the attempts by the West to draw Ukraine into NATO and the security threats Russia has been facing following the alliance’s eastward expansion, as well as targeted and consistent policies by the regime in Kiev, which came to power in an anti-constitutional government coup in February 2014.

He appreciated the efforts put forward by the Russian International Affairs Council and the Embassy of India in Russia to organize this new forum.