Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be on a two-day official visit to New Delhi beginning Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs has said.
While the MEA has not yet shared details of Lavrov’s meetings in New Delhi, sources said that he is scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on Friday.
The two are likely to discuss a number of issues including the situation in Ukraine, the sanctions against Russian banks imposed by the US and the EU, possibility of increased purchase of Russian oil at a discount and a payment mechanism that could permit continued trade amidst economic sanctions, the source added.
The visit comes at a time when the US and European countries are trying to isolate Russia and are increasing pressure on India to minimise its dealings with the country.
Interestingly, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, too, is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Thursday and Russia’s war on Ukraine is likely to be one of the top agenda items in her discussions with Jaishankar.
US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and Foreign Ministers of Austria and Greece also visited India last weeks while Foreign Minister of Mexico Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon began his two-day India visit on Thursday.
India has been walking a tight-rope diplomatically in its reaction to the Russian invasion. At the UN Security Council and at the UN Human Rights Commission, India abstained from voting in motions against Russia, but it has also been condemning the use of violence in Ukraine.
“India is likely to discuss the supplies of S-400 missile systems from Russia and the fate of other contracted deals in defence equipment. It is important to come to an agreement on the payment mechanism,” the source said.
The Russian Central Bank and the Reserve Bank of India are likely to hold discussions on a rupee rouble payment mechanism and an acceptable exchange value. “There are important things to be decided such as the currency of reference in case a rupee rouble payment mechanism is activated for bilateral trade. The Chinese yuan could be an acceptable currency for reference, but much would depend on the discussions between the Central Banks of the two countries,”another source said.
Lavrov’s will be the first high-level visit from Russia to India since the former invaded Ukraine last month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin thrice since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He also spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy twice.
The Russian Foreign Minister’s visit to New Delhi comes close on the heels of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi who met Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and discussed a number of issues including the Ukrainian crisis.