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New Delhi: Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has called off a planned visit to India this month, which was meant to prepare for President Vladimir Putin’s trip to the country, because of scheduling issues, people familiar with the matter said.
Sergey Lavrov was expected to be in New Delhi around June 16 for talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar (AP)
Lavrov was expected to be in New Delhi around June 16 for talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, the people said on condition of anonymity. However, a belated invitation from Canada for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the G7 Summit on June 17 has meant that Jaishankar is now expected to travel with the Prime Minister next week, the people said.
No alternative dates have been firmed up for the visit by Lavrov, who would have been the first senior leader from a permanent member of the UN Security Council to travel to New Delhi after last month’s military clashes between India and Pakistan. A time frame for Putin’s visit for the annual India-Russia Summit too is yet to be finalised, though the trip looks unlikely in the next two months, the people said.
Besides preparing for Putin’s trip, Lavrov’s visit would have been an opportunity for India and Russia to take stock of bilateral relations at a senior level. The two countries are set to hold meetings of two key bilateral bodies – the Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation and the Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation – in the coming months.
The people said these meetings continue to be on track. While the military commission will meet in India, the trade and economic panel will meet in Russia this year. Military cooperation between India and Russia has remained strong despite New Delhi’s recent efforts to diversify sources of military hardware. Russian-origin weapons systems, especially the BrahMos cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia, played a key role in the recent clashes with Pakistan.
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Putin’s planned visit to India will be the first since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. Modi travelled to Russia twice in 2024 – first for the annual summit and then to participate in the Brics Summit in Kazan. The two leaders are also expected to meet if they both travel to Brazil for the Brics Summit in July.
However, US secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick recently criticised India’s continuing purchases of Russian military hardware and its involvement in Brics primarily because of calls by several members of the grouping to reduce dependence on the US dollar.
Speaking at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum Leadership Summit, Lutnick said some of the Indian government’s actions have “rubbed the US the wrong way”. He added, “For instance, you generally buy your military gear from Russia. That’s a way to…get under the skin of America, if you go to buy your armaments from Russia.”
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