Ahead of Modi-Putin summit, EAM S Jaishankar begins three-day Russia visit

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar began a three-day visit to Russia on Monday, marking the second high-profile diplomatic engagement between the two nations, following National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s trip to Moscow two weeks ago.

These visits are intended to lay the groundwork for the upcoming annual leaders’ summit, which will feature Russian President Vladimir Putin travelling to India for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The aim is to provide a renewed push to the long-standing bilateral relationship.

Jaishankar will co-chair the 26th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) on Wednesday. He will also address a business forum in Moscow and hold a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to review the bilateral agenda and share perspective on regional and global issues.

The Ministry of External Affairs said, “The visit aims at further strengthening the longstanding and time-tested India-Russia special and privileged strategic partnership.” Jaishankar is visiting at the invitation of Russia’s first Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and is also likely to call on President Putin.

A key topic on the agenda is India’s continued procurement of energy from Russia. New Delhi is exploring the possibility of securing crude oil supplies at even lower rates. The Russian crude oil price has been capped at $60 a barrel since December 2022. The decision was taken by G7 nations. The cap faced criticism for being largely ineffective.

The Indian government has demonstrated no intention of scaling back crude imports, maintaining its position despite mounting pressure from the US. Last week, the MEA termed potential additional US punitive tariffs “unjustified and unreasonable”.

Beyond energy, the two countries are also deepening cooperation in other strategic areas. Just two weeks ago, discussions covered military cooperation, civilian aircraft manufacturing, and metallurgy -- the science critical for producing guns, aircraft parts and engines.