Amidst war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announces his visit to India: Here’s what is being expected.
Russia and India have shared a close relationship and has been considered to be a natural ally. The nature of the relationship shared between the two has been detrimental to understanding how significantly India has committed to serving the non-alignment. The idea draws into narration again as the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announces his visit to India, despite the war in Ukraine. The visit comes at a time when Russia is being detested by the West and half of the global populace. It was only yesterday, that US President Joe Biden gave what is being considered the century’s rhetoric when he stated, “For God’s Sake, that man (Putin) cannot be in power”. The political and geopolitical scenarios have transformed extremely after Russia launched a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine on 24th February.
Despite the sanctions which are likely to test Putin’s patience as well as Russia’s economy, nothing so far has been able to deter the Russian from committing what they intend to do with Russia. However, Lavrov visit’s to India is a possible hint at what can be expected. It was only a few days back when India’s position in the war was highly questioned as it did not come out choosing sides. Even speculations were drawn into how India could be considering importing discounted oil from Russia in between the severity of sanctions by the West.
Russian Foreign Minister’s visit is also coinciding with the visit of UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss who has scheduled her meeting with EAM Jaishankar the day Lavrov lands in India’s Capital. The West has been wary of how India’s been reacting to the war in Ukraine, especially when US President Joe Biden commented that within QUAD India’s position has been “somewhat shaky”. The agendas that are likely to be discussed by the Russian side may include trade, military and of course a new mechanism to allow smooth functioning of the rupee-ruble flow. Not many details of his visit have been confirmed or shared by the Ministry of External Affairs.
India has been abstaining from all resolutions that were introduced in the UNGA and the UNSC and continue to demand and call for ‘constructive diplomacy’ between Russia and Ukraine. It has also condemned the humanitarian crisis which has slowly turned into Europe’s biggest refugee crisis. Later this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Moscow for the India-Russia Annual Summit. The details of the Russian Foreign Minister’s India visit will be highly anticipated, as the West continues to watch over its cold war rival, Russia.
