External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that he held a wide-ranging conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

He emphasised that the discussions covered bilateral cooperation, regional hotspots, global challenges and multilateral issues. In a post on X, he described the meeting as comprehensive and constructive.

The talks came as Jaishankar also met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin during his two-day official visit. He handed over a personal message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Russian leader.

He briefed President Putin on the outcome of the 27th India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, known as IRIGC-TEC. He highlighted that the deliberations reviewed cooperation across a wide range of domains and included regional and global issues.

Jaishankar conveyed Prime Minister Modi’s good wishes to Putin. He stressed the progress made in bilateral economic cooperation, citing trade, energy, fertilisers and nuclear cooperation as key areas.

He noted that overall economic cooperation had grown significantly and expressed readiness to provide detailed reports on these developments.

He further conveyed that Prime Minister Modi looks forward to meeting Putin at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit.

He added that Modi would welcome Putin to India for the BRICS Summit and, in due course, hold the annual summit. He underlined that this reflects a strong picture of cooperation between the two nations.

Jaishankar concluded his remarks by thanking Putin for receiving him. Putin, in turn, welcomed Jaishankar and said the visit underscored the longstanding relationship between Russia and India. He asked Jaishankar to convey his best wishes to Prime Minister Modi and expressed hope of meeting him soon at the SCO Summit. He also noted that their schedules would likely allow another meeting later in the year.

Putin highlighted the discussions held between Jaishankar and First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov under the intergovernmental commission. He pointed out that energy, fertiliser supplies, nuclear energy and cooperation in high-technology sectors were among the issues addressed.

Earlier in the day, Jaishankar co-chaired the 27th Session of the IRIGC-TEC with Manturov, focusing on strengthening bilateral cooperation and addressing regional and global challenges.

Jaishankar’s visit to Russia from August 23 to 24 was at the invitation of Manturov. His engagements with Russian officials reinforced the longstanding and time-tested partnership between India and Russia.

The meetings demonstrated both nations’ commitment to deepening ties across political, economic, scientific and technological domains, while also engaging on pressing regional and global matters.

ANI