 "External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday. X - @DrSJaishankar")
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar are expected to visit Moscow this month, The Economic Times reported. Doval could travel in early August, while Jaishankar is likely to visit around mid-month.
This comes following harsh remarks by Donald Trump, who called India and Russia “dead economies” and announced a 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods along with penalties. He also warned of penalties for countries maintaining strategic trade ties with Russia.
Senior Indian officials clarified that the new penalties are aimed at India’s growing energy and defence ties with Moscow. India’s import of Russian crude has surged from just 0.2 per cent before the Ukraine war to nearly 40 per cent of its total oil purchases, making it Russia’s second-biggest buyer after China.
India has also continued to acquire advanced military equipment from Russia despite ongoing Western sanctions.
Earlier, Trump on Thursday lashed out at both India and Russia, calling their economies “dead” and saying he doesn’t care about New Delhi’s ties with Moscow.
“They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, also accusing India of having “some of the highest tariffs in the world,” which he claimed hampers US-India trade.
In the same post, Trump took a swipe at Russia’s Deputy Security Council chief Dmitry Medvedev, calling him a “failed former President” and warning him to “watch his words,” saying he is “entering very dangerous territory.”