Official meeting between Sergey Lavrov and PM Modi over the Russia-Ukraine war on Friday evening.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met PM of India Narendra Modi on Friday, 1st April 2022. The meeting lasted for 40 minutes regarding the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. The meeting took place after international pressure on India to take a stance on the war due to its effective influence on the matter,
The meeting took place even though Modi had not met any other foreign ministers in the past weeks. Lavrov also mentioned that Putin sent his best wishes to Modi. He added that he was happy to deliver the message personally.
India had been receiving international pressure due to its international standing between Russia and Ukraine. India is USA’s defence partner. On the other hand, it has a history of international relations with the country of Russia. India has not made any direct statements about the actions of Russia, or Ukraine.
However, it has called for peaceful resolutions and taken a neutral stance on the matter. It further proved that stance two times during UN meetings. India abstained from voting on resolutions that condemned the actions of Russia. It also abstained from voting on a Russian resolution regarding the humanitarian crisis in the country of Ukraine.
A press release was also made from PMO India’s office. Modi claimed to have called to end the violence in the Russia-Ukraine war. However, several claims took this statement as an indication of India’s stand on this issue as a mediator.
“If Prime Minister Modi is willing to play that role (mediator between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelinsky and President Putin), we will welcome his efforts”, Said Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine Foreign Minister.
Additionally, reports stated that India was trading oil with the country Russia at a discounted rate. The countries were keen and arranged for a rouble-rupee arrangement for bilateral trade. This has also brought international pressure on India over its economic stance on the issue. Lavrov also met with the Indian Foreign Minister, Jaishankar. He mentioned during the meeting that Putin sent his best regards to Modi.
Published By: Apoorva Wakodikar
Edited By: Subbuthai Padma
