Home » Russian foreign minister visits India to win support from Asian allies | Political news | Al Jazeera

Russian foreign minister visits India to win support from Asian allies | Political news | Al Jazeera

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Russian foreign minister visits India to win support from Asian allies | Political news | Al Jazeera

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has begun meeting Indian leaders in New Delhi, after meeting his Chinese counterpart earlier this week. Moscow is trying to win over the Asian powers as the West imposes sanctions on Russia.

The two Asian powers are among the few countries that have not condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. Following Lavrov’s visit to China this week, Beijing said it would develop bilateral relations with Russia “more firmly”.

“We appreciate India’s view of the current situation with complete facts and not in a one-sided way,” Lavrov said in the opening remarks of a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar on April 1.

“We will continue to execute projects in energy, technology, space, pharmaceuticals and more.”

Jaishankar said bilateral ties had expanded, but they would have detailed discussions on the current “difficult international environment”.

He also said, “As you know, India has always supported the resolution of differences and disputes through dialogue and diplomacy.”

In addition to being Asia’s third-largest economy, India is currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, giving it additional diplomatic clout.

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The purpose of Lavrov’s trip is to win the support of India, which Russia has long regarded as a friend. Just a day earlier, senior officials from the United States and Britain held talks in New Delhi to persuade the Indian government to avoid undermining Western sanctions.

The U.S. deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, Dalep Singh, said the U.S. would not set any “red lines” for India’s energy imports from Russia, but did not want to see India “quickly accelerate” its energy purchases.

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British Foreign Secretary Truss also said that Britain respects India’s decision to buy discounted oil from Russia, while also advocating harsh sanctions against Russia in the fields of ports, gold and energy.

Since the outbreak of the war, India has bought millions of barrels of crude oil from Russia at discounted prices, arguing that these purchases are good for its own citizens, and even European countries are doing the same.

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India also signed a contract with Russia to buy sunflower oil at a record price after Ukraine stopped supplying it due to the war.

Defense analysts say India cannot afford to alienate Russia. Russia has been India’s largest arms supplier for decades.

Russian and Indian officials declined to share the agenda for Lavrov’s visit. It should be pointed out that Lavrov will also meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi before leaving on the evening of the 1st.

Indian and Russian officials are expected to discuss a payment mechanism in Indian rupees to Russian rubles to maintain bilateral trade as sanctions make dollar-based transactions difficult, according to a Reuters report.

“We don’t want to see mechanisms designed to prop up the ruble and undermine the dollar-based financial system, nor do we want to see mechanisms designed to circumvent our financial sanctions,” U.S. official Singer told reporters on March 31. mechanism.”

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