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Appreciate India’s neutral stance on Ukraine: Lavrov
Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeated his call for an end to violence when Lavrov met and briefed him on the situation in Ukraine, including the ongoing peace negotiations, according to an official statement.
New Delhi: Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said no pressure can affect Russia’s partnership with India, whose foreign policy reflects the country’s neutrality and independence while Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his call for an early cessation of violence in Ukraine during a meeting with Lavrov and conveyed India’s readiness to contribute in any way to peace efforts.
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The Indian side has repeatedly stressed on respecting the UN Charter and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states. In his phone conversations with Russian and Ukrainian presidents in recent weeks, Modi has called for an end to the hostilities and a return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.
Modi repeated his call for an end to violence when Lavrov met and briefed him on the situation in Ukraine, including the ongoing peace negotiations, according to an official statement. “Prime Minister reiterated his call for an early cessation of violence, and conveyed India’s readiness to contribute in any way to the peace efforts,” the statement said.
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Lavrov met Modi after his talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar. The interaction with the Prime Minister was significant as Modi has not met any of the Western leaders or senior officials who have travelled to New Delhi in the past two weeks for consultations on the Ukraine crisis.
Lavrov said his talks with Jaishankar reflected the specially privileged strategic partnership forged with India over many decades and bilateral cooperation in many areas, ranging from defence to investments.
“I believe that India’s foreign policy is characterised by independence and the concentration on the real national legitimate interests,” he said, adding that Russia has a similar policy and “this makes us... good friends and old partners”. The two countries always respect each other’s interests and try to accommodate such interests, he said.
“I have no doubt that any pressure will affect our partnership, but you know that others have been trying to suppress the relationship between India, Russia and China...and they are forcing others to follow their politics,” he added.
Lavrov flew into India from China shortly after US deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh concluded his talks with Indian interlocutors regarding the fallout of the Ukraine crisis and the wide-ranging sanctions imposed by the US and its partners to squeeze Russia’s leadership and financial system.
In his opening remarks at his meeting with Jaishankar, Lavrov said: “Our Western colleagues like to reduce any meaningful international issue to the crisis in Ukraine. You know our position, we do not hide anything and we appreciate India is taking this situation in the entirety of facts and not just in a one-sided way.”
India has so far abstained on all Ukraine-related votes at UN bodies and not joined the West in condemning the Russian invasion. Most of the Western leaders who visited India in recent days have strongly criticised Russia’s actions and emphasised the need for democracies to stand together against challenges to the rules-based international order.
Lavrov, who came to New Delhi days after a visit by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, noted during the news conference that the regional situation is “not perfect” and said Russia supports Indian efforts to “consolidate regional countries” and to promote mutually beneficial approaches in South Asia.
Asked about a possible role for India in mediating between Russia and Ukraine, Lavrov said he hadn’t heard “about such talks”, though India — which is not under the influence of “US dictates” and is “an important and serious country” — can support efforts to find a resolution.
India is Russia’s partner and has a “just and rational approach towards international problems”, and no one would be against it if India seeks to play a role which provides a resolution of the problem, Lavrov added.
During their meeting, Jaishankar and Lavrov considered the implications of recent developments on trade and economic ties, according to a statement from the external affairs ministry. Jaishankar said that India, as a developing economy, is concerned by global volatility in different domains.
“It is important for both countries that their economic, technological and people-to-people contacts remain stable and predictable,” the statement said.
Like the Prime Minister, Jaishankar emphasised the importance of cessation of violence and resolving disputes through dialogue, diplomacy and respect for international law, the UN Charter, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.
The ministers also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, Iran and the JCPoA.
Moscow on Friday accused Kyiv of carrying out its first air strike on Russian soil, in a new blow to hopes of any de-escalation in the war against Ukraine.
Peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials resumed via video, but Moscow warned that the helicopter attack on a fuel depot in the town of Belgorod would hamper negotiations.
Russia launched its offensive on February 24 on its neighbour, expecting to quickly take Kyiv and topple Zelensky’s government. But a ferocious Ukrainian fightback scuppered such plans. Russia has also faced unprecedented Western sanctions that have led multinationals to quit the country en masse.
