Jaishankar meets Russian counterpart Lavrov in Moscow, discusses bilateral ties

India and Russia on Monday underscored the steadiness of their long-standing strategic partnership as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, setting the stage for President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to New Delhi.

Jaishankar, in his opening remarks, said the meeting carried “special importance” as both sides prepare for the 23rd Annual India-Russia Summit.

“Our regular interactions — six this year so far — have greatly helped advance bilateral cooperation and enabled us to share perspectives on key regional, global and multilateral issues,” he said.

Several agreements and joint initiatives across diverse sectors are expected to be finalised ahead of the summit. Jaishankar said these developments would “add more substance and texture” to the countries’ Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.

He noted that New Delhi and Moscow would exchange views on the “complex global situation” with the characteristic openness of their relationship.

Touching on conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East and Afghanistan, he reiterated India’s support for ongoing peace efforts. “An early cessation of the conflict and ensuring an enduring peace is in the interest of the entire international community,” he added.

Lavrov, calling the meeting “timely”, confirmed that the next Russian-Indian summit will take place in New Delhi in about three weeks.

He said the relationship remains a top priority in Russia’s foreign policy.

"It is a testimony to the fact that Russia and India have a special and privileged strategic partnership and it is now on top priority of our foreign policy,” Lavrov said.

He said both countries have achieved a lot and have more prospects in power, energy, agriculture, industrial cooperation, military-technical cooperation, science and culture.

Separately, Russian Presidential Aide and Chair of the Russian Maritime Board Nikolai Patrushev held talks in New Delhi with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and National Maritime Security Coordinator Biswajit Dasgupta.

The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation in the civilian maritime domain, particularly in shipbuilding, port infrastructure, maritime logistics, crew training and ocean research.

Russia highlighted its technological strengths, noting plans to elevate the Krylov State Research Centre in St. Petersburg into a national research hub overseeing multiple maritime scientific organisations.

Both sides also discussed the creation of a joint database of standardised shipbuilding designs — a move expected to significantly reduce India’s fleet modernization costs — and explored the possibility of establishing shipbuilding and repair clusters in Mumbai or Chennai with Russian participation.