It was Lavrov’s fifth meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar this year. “We discussed in detail the state and prospects of military-technical cooperation, including the joint production of modern weapons,” Lavrov said in comments reported by the TASS news agency, without giving further details. The two countries are seeking to expand trade ties and cooperate more closely in the fields of nuclear power and space travel, Lavrov said. For decades, India has relied on Russia for its military equipment. Russia is also the fourth largest market for Indian pharmaceuticals.
A new Russia to India route
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India welcomes relationship with Moscow
It was Jaishankar’s first visit to Moscow since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. He was accompanied by senior officials from agriculture, oil and gas, ports and shipping, finance, chemicals and fertilizers and trade. “Russia has been a steadfast and time-tested partner. Any objective assessment of our relationship over many decades would confirm that it has indeed served both our countries extremely well,” Jaishankar said. India has close ties to both Moscow and the West and is one of the few countries that has not condemned Russia’s war in Ukraine. New Delhi also does not support Western sanctions against Russia and instead favors dialogue as a way to resolve conflicts.
India will continue to buy Russian oil
Jaishankar also stressed that his country will continue to buy oil from Russia. India has become Russia’s biggest oil customer after China as Western buyers try to wean themselves off fuel from Moscow. “As the third largest consumer of oil and natural gas and a country with not very high incomes, we have to look for affordable sources, so the India-Russia relationship is to our advantage,” Jaishankar said. Russia’s share of India’s oil imports has risen from about 2 percent before the Ukraine invasion to a record high of 23 percent in September. nm/aw (dpa, Interfax)
