PTI
Moscow
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met Russian President Vladimir Putin and is understood to have discussed various aspects of India-Russia ties.
India and Russia vowed to expand their bilateral trade in a “balanced and sustainable manner” with Jaishankar underlining the need to “swiftly” address non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments.
The meeting came hours after Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that largely focused on expanding the trade ties between the two countries.
The External Affairs Minister landed in Moscow on Tuesday on a three-day visit to explore ways to expand bilateral cooperation in areas of trade, energy and technology against the backdrop of tensions in India’s ties with the US over the Trump administration’s policies on tariff.
Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on Wednesday that focused on preparations for Putin’s visit to India later this year for summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a social media post, the External Affairs Minister said he conveyed to President Putin the warm greetings of President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Modi.
Before meeting Putin, Jaishankar said at a press conference that India and Russia have been among the “steadiest” of the major relationships in the world after the Second World War. “Geo-political convergence, leadership contacts and popular sentiment remain its key drivers,” he said.
In their talks, Jaishankar and Lavrov also deliberated on ways to combat terrorism. “On terrorism, we resolved to fight jointly against all forms and manifestations of terrorism,” the External Affairs Minister said. “I conveyed India’s strong resolve to adopt a zero tolerance policy against terrorism and our sovereign right to defend our citizens against cross-border terrorism,” he said.
It appeared from Jaishankar’s remarks that boosting two-way trade was a major focus of his talks with both Manturov and Lavrov. “We reaffirmed our shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner, including by increasing India’s exports to Russia,” he said.
The External Affairs Minister also took up the issue of some Indians serving in the Russian Army. “While many have been released, there are still some pending cases and some missing persons. We hope that the Russian side will expeditiously resolve these matters,” he said.
In the meeting, Jaishankar and Lavrov reaffirmed the shared commitment of India and Russia to the reform of global governance. The two sides also deliberated on the situation in Ukraine, West Asia and Afghanistan.
It is learnt that India-Russia energy ties figured prominently in Jaishankar’s talks with Lavrov.