After China, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to Visit India. Here’s why
- Indian and Russian officials are expected to discuss the sale of Russian crude oil to India and also work out a rupee-ruble denominated payment method for oil and other goods that could work outside the SWIFT messaging system, as per report
Following Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Delhi last week, now Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is set to visit New Delhi this week, according to the Bloomberg report citing The Hindu newspaper. This visit holds strategic for India's diplomatic relationships as it would be the highest-level visit from Moscow since Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine.
Indian and Russian officials are expected to discuss the sale of Russian crude oil to India and also work out a rupee-ruble denominated payment method for oil and other goods that could work outside the SWIFT messaging system, the report said.
Lavrov’s visit will follow Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Delhi Friday to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as their own two-year-old border standoff. India is also under pressure from its fellow members of the Quad grouping, which includes the U.S., Australia and Japan, to take a stronger stand against Russia as the U.S. and its allies try to isolate and punish Moscow, Bloomberg report said.
This comes at a time when not China and India haven’t condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two nations are expected to participate in the BRICS summit, which includes Russia, Brazil and South Africa, scheduled in China. No dates have been set for that meeting yet. India’s Ministry of External Affairs didn’t immediately reply to text messages seeking confirmation of Lavrov’s visit, Bloomberg reported.
India is not averse to buying discounted Russian oil and the government has informed parliament that it is examining offers to buy cheap crude while an inter-ministerial committee is working on an alternate payment system.
Indian central bank officials and their Russian counterparts are meeting ahead of Lavrov’s visit , the news report said, adding that New Delhi, the largest buyer of Russian military hardware, will be seeking clarification from Moscow on delivery dates for weapon systems in the pipeline.
(With inputs from agencies)
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First Published:28 Mar 2022, 12:50 PM IST
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