Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov came to India on a two-day state visit on Friday. He met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Minister S Jaishankar. Ahead of the meeting, Lavrov had said he was carrying a message from President Vladimir Putin to PM Modi.
Later while answering whether India can mediate between Russia and Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov said, “(India) with its just and rational approach towards international problems can support such a process and no one would be against it.”
He also hailed India’s independent approach saying, “I believe that India’s foreign policy is characterized by independence and the concentration on the real national legitimate interests.”
On enhancing bilateral trade, the Minister said, “We will be ready to supply to India any goods which India wants to buy.” And on Rupee-Ruble payment mechanism, he added, “I would recall many years ago, we started moving in our relations with India, China (and) many other countries from using dollars and euros to more and more use of national currencies. Under the current circumstances, this trend I believe, will be intensified, which is natural and obvious.”
A positive note from the Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar summed up India’s stand. It read, “It is important for both countries that their economic, technological, and people-to-people contacts remain stable and predictable.”
Image Source: PTI