Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who arrived in New Delhi from Baku the day before, starts his three-day visit program on Wednesday. As part of the trip, the minister is expected to meet with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Twenty (G20), and hold talks with partners from China, Brazil and other countries.
Despite his busy schedule, Lavrov will participate in the International Political Science Conference, "Raisin Dialogue," which will be held in New Delhi from March 2-4. As Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted earlier, the minister's visit takes place amid growing risks to the global economy. In this regard, the Russian side plans to focus on the problems of energy and food security, as well as the destructiveness of illegitimate sanctions at the G20 ministerial meeting organized under the Indian presidency.
Lavrov and Jaishankar will also discuss the security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, the situation in Afghanistan, as well as the situation in Ukraine.
G20 meeting
The first two days of the minister's working visit to India will be held under the auspices of the G20 events. The upcoming Russia-China and Russia-Brazil contacts deserve special attention among previously announced bilateral meetings on the margins of the G20. Shortly before his trip to New Delhi, in Moscow Lavrov received Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party and a member of the Politburo. Among other topics, the two sides discussed in detail the current situation in Ukraine. During the meeting, Wang Yi outlined to the Russian minister Beijing's view of the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis as well as approaches to its political settlement.
Later, the Chinese foreign ministry published a document with proposals for the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. It consists of 12 points, including calls for a cease-fire, respect for the legitimate security interests of all countries, the resolution of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, an exchange of prisoners between Moscow and Kiev, and the refusal to impose unilateral sanctions without a relevant decision of the UN Security Council. In addition, the Chinese side called on Moscow and Kiev to resume negotiations without preconditions, which should be facilitated by the international community. Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya welcomed the "sincere efforts on the path to peace" demonstrated by China.
It is possible that Beijing's plan to resolve the crisis in Ukraine will be the subject of a bilateral meeting between Lavrov and his Chinese counterparts on the sidelines of the G20. The peace initiatives on Ukraine put forward by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva may also be considered during relevant Russian-Brazilian contacts. Earlier, in an interview with TASS, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said that the initiatives of the republic are now being studied by the Russian side.
It is noteworthy that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will also attend the G20 ministerial meeting, but there have been no signals of any possible contacts with the Russian side on the margins of the event.
One-on-one with New Delhi
As Zakharova said earlier, Lavrov and his Indian counterpart will discuss the interaction between the countries in the framework of the Indian presidency of the SCO and the G20, as well as coordination of approaches in multilateral formats, such as the UN, BRICS and RIC (Russia, India, China). Other topics include trade and investment and transport-logistics cooperation, the use of national currencies in mutual settlements and promising energy projects.
According to Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov, Moscow and New Delhi are likely to meet the trade turnover target of $30 billion by 2025 set by the leaders of the two countries ahead of schedule. The respective task may be accomplished by the end of the year.
The situation in Afghanistan is another important subject for "checking notes". Russia has already suggested a new five-party format for settling the situation in Afghanistan, which presupposes the participation of Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran and China. According to Special Representative of the Russian President for Afghanistan and Director of the Second Asian Department of the Foreign Ministry Zamir Kabulov, this format "may become the driving force not only for achieving regional consensus, but also for doing something for realization of this consensus." It is possible that the sides will discuss the prospects of launching such a format.
The foreign ministers of the two countries are expected to discuss the area of military-technical cooperation. Earlier, Ambassador Alipov stated that the delivery of the third batch of Russian S-400 air defense missile systems to India will be completed in the near future, and Chairman of the Russian Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugaev noted that the portfolio of orders for Russian arms and military hardware to India exceeds $10 billion. Given the statements by US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland that Washington is working to replace Russia as an arms supplier to India and other countries, it is possible that the parties will focus on the military and technical cooperation.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry
Based on materials from TASS