External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday in Moscow. The meeting is expected to lay the ground for further engagements scheduled for Thursday on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
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Following his meeting with Mr. Lavrov, he said, “Pleasure to meet Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, this time in person. Excellent talks that reflect our special and privileged strategic partnership. Value our exchanges on the international situation.” The pandemic had prevented physical meeting among diplomats and the SCO summit and the bilaterals are the first such interactions of the Foreign Ministers of the grouping in this circumstance.
Mr. Jaishankar is scheduled participate in the Council of Foreign Ministers of SCO on Thursday. A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry said the meeting will begin shortly after midday. On the sidelines of the meeting, he is likely to engage his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi for a discussion on the tense situation in LAC.
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The gathering is being keenly watched as it is the first time the Chinese and the Indian Foreign Ministers will come face to face in the backdrop of the evolving tense situation in Eastern Ladakh. Spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Xhao Lijian said Mr. Wang’s agenda in the coming few days includes both bilateral and multilateral engagements.
That apart, a separate meeting of the Russia, India and China grouping is also expected on Thursday where Eastern Ladakh is likely to figure prominently.
Russian engagements with India and China have indicated that Moscow is playing a subtle role in controlling the situation along the LAC. However, Russian officials based in Delhi have maintained that Moscow is building positive circumstances to resolve international disputes.
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Mr. Jaishankar, who held talks in Tehran on Tuesday during a stop over to Moscow, is on a four-day visit to the Russian capital for the SCO ministerial and bilaterals.
Earlier on Wednesday, he met his Tajikistan and Kyrgyz counterparts Sirojiddin Muhuriddin and Chingiz Aidarbekov.
