On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on his two-day visit to India, praising the two countries' "excellent ties" and "mutual trust."
The high-level meetings took place in the wake of reports that India may buy larger quantities of discounted Russian oil, and both sides were eager to establish a ruble-rupee exchange rate for bilateral commerce.
"If India wants to buy anything from us, we are willing to negotiate and establish mutually acceptable collaboration," Lavrov stated in response to the topic of supplying oil to India.
The meeting between Lavrov and Jaishankar comes a day after the United States warned of repercussions if Moscow tried to "elude" US sanctions.
"These days, our western friends would like to reduce any significant world issue to the crisis in Ukraine," Lavrov remarked, directing his criticism at the West.
We don't fight anything, and we admire India's approach to the matter, which is holistic rather than one-sided."
Lavrov stated that India-Russia ties have been "extremely sustainable" during many "tough times" in the past and that he has no reservations about continuing collaboration. He stated that developing relations with India is a top priority for Russian foreign policy. He stated, "We are interested in establishing a balanced international order that is sustainable."
In the meantime, Jaishankar added that India supports resolving differences and issues via communication and diplomacy, referring to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
After a two-day visit to China, Lavrov arrived in New Delhi on Thursday evening. Following his talks with Jaishankar, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will pay a visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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