Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to visit India tomorrow: MEA

The two-day visit is the highest level of engagement between the Indian and Russian governments since Moscow launched its military offensive against Ukraine on February 24.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will make a two-day official visit to India, the union minister of external affairs informed. The visit - Thursday and Friday - is the highest level of engagement between the Indian and Russian governments since Moscow launched its military offensive against Ukraine on February 24.

File photo of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.(REUTERS)

"Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, will pay an official visit to New Delhi on 31 March-1 April 2022," the MEA said in a one-line statement on its website.

As of now, no further details regarding whom Lavrov would meet on his trip have been released. Notably, the trip coincides with visits by British foreign secretary Liz Truss and US deputy national security advisor for international economics Daleep Singh.

Lavrov is travelling to India after completing a two-day visit to China. The India visit by Russia's foreign minister also comes as the western nations have intensified pressure on Russia over the Ukraine invasion by imposing crippling econonomic sanctions on Moscow.

Since Russia's brutal offensive in Ukraine, which has killed hundreds (potentially thousands) of people, including children, India has maintained a neutral stand and refrained from criticising isolated Moscow on a public platform.

India has also abstained from UN resolutions censuring Russia and continues to buy Russian oil and other goods, despite pressure from west.