S Jaishankar met Foreign Minister Sergei, said such things regarding India-Russia relations that many countries were surprised.

Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and held bilateral talks during his 5-day visit to Russia. Jaishankar said on Wednesday that relations between India and Russia are “extremely strong, extremely stable.” All the countries of the world are surprised to see this jugalbandhi between India and Russia. Jaishankar met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and discussed bilateral cooperation in various fields, international strategic situation, war and tensions. Jaishankar said in the initial conversation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin have been talking to each other from time to time.

He said the two leaders have had the opportunity to interact with each other several times and regularly through forums such as the G20, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, ASEAN, and BRICS. Jaishankar said, “Our relations are very strong, very stable. And I think we have lived up to a special and privileged strategic partnership. This year we have already met six times and this is the seventh meeting.” He said that during today’s meeting both sides will focus on bilateral cooperation in various fields, adjusting it according to changing circumstances and demands.

Discussion on other issues including international strategic situations

“We will discuss the international strategic situation, conflicts and tensions, as well as focus on the development challenges facing the Global South and of course multilateralism and building a multipolar world order,” the External Affairs Minister said. The term ‘Global South’ is generally used to refer to economically less developed countries. Jaishankar said that this year both sides witnessed different expressions of cooperation. “We are very pleased to see continued progress and look forward to strong participation from Russia at the Vibrant Gujarat conference in January,” he said. Lavrov said that relations between India and Russia are very long standing and very good, adding that it is heartening to see that they are continuously progressing in the present times. (Language)

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