United Nations: India and Russia have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their “special and privileged” strategic partnership during a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the two sides also discussed coordination at international platforms, including the United Nations, G20 and BRICS.
“The sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the special and privileged Russia-India Strategic Partnership and close coordination at the UN, G20 and BRICS,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a post on X following the meeting.
Jaishankar said the two ministers exchanged views on several ongoing issues and reviewed bilateral relations as well as cooperation within BRICS.
Lavrov had visited India earlier in September to attend the BRICS Summit, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The engagement between the two countries comes as India continues to maintain diplomatic contacts with Russia, Ukraine and other international partners on a range of global issues.
US President Donald Trump has invited Putin to the G20 Summit of industrialised and emerging economies scheduled for December, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to attend.
During his meeting with Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Kyrgyzstan last month, Modi called for an end to the Ukraine conflict, referring to the importance of humanity and dialogue.
Jaishankar had also met Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha earlier in the week. Following that meeting, Jaishankar said the two sides discussed developments over the preceding weeks, while Sybiha said their talks included peace efforts.
Neither Jaishankar nor the Russian Foreign Ministry specifically mentioned the Ukraine conflict in their account of the Jaishankar-Lavrov meeting. Jaishankar referred more broadly to discussions on several ongoing issues.
India and Russia have maintained close diplomatic relations and regularly coordinate on international issues. As members of several multilateral groupings, the two countries have engaged on subjects including global financial institutions, technology cooperation, energy and the interests of developing countries.
The Jaishankar-Lavrov meeting was part of India’s wider diplomatic engagements during the UN General Assembly session, where the External Affairs Minister has been holding discussions with counterparts from several countries.
India’s engagements at the United Nations are focused on bilateral partnerships as well as broader international issues, including climate change, terrorism, development and cooperation among countries of the Global South.
