Ukraine Crisis / Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to visit India this week, British Foreign Minister Truss will also come

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit India this week amid the Ukraine crisis. Before this, he will meet and meet the leaders of China. Lavrov is expected to visit Delhi on April 1. During this, British Foreign Minister Liz Truss will also visit India.

Lavrov will hold talks with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar in Delhi. However, the agenda for the visit and other meetings of the Russian Foreign Minister is still being worked out. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov will attend a meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighboring countries in China before holding bilateral talks with India. This is the third such meeting organized by Beijing. It will include envoys from Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

India did not openly criticize Russia or Putin

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov's visit to India is considered important amid the Ukraine crisis. India is one of the countries that has not openly opposed or criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin's military action against Ukraine. Russia has appreciated the stand taken by the Indian side in forums such as the United Nations. The two countries are expected to discuss alternative payment mechanisms for defense and other deals to neutralize sanctions imposed by the US and its allies on Russian banks and institutions.

Apart from major defense deals like the $5.4 billion deal for defense systems like the S-400 air defense system, India is also considering a proposal from Russia to supply oil and other commodities at concessional rates. A group of representatives from various ministries, headed by the Finance Minister, is assessing the possible impact of Western sanctions on India.