‘Important, steady and beneficial for New Delhi’: Jaishankar on India’s ties with Russia

Reiterating that India’s relationship with Russia can be described “important and steady,” and has also proved to be beneficial for New Delhi over the years, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserted that the ties with Moscow will remain just the way they are at present.

“If people can’t read me, that means my mind games are working. But the answer is honestly I see no reason that people should take any, you know what was happening other than at face value because we have always maintained that the Russia relationship is a very important one, very steady one,” Jaishankar said reacting to the Western media’s criticism regarding his Russia visit and the good terms between PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Putin.

The minister has also emphasized the need for India to approach cautiously while dealing with other countries. He made his comments on India’s relationship with Russia in an interview with news agency ANI.

India has maintained a neutral stand on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, advocating dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the situation. During a meeting with President Putin in Samarkand in 2021, PM Modi had said, “This is not an era of war.”

In the interview with ANI, Jaishankar said, “I have written about it in my book and I mean I said it in Moscow. I said it publicly in Moscow even before my meeting with President Putin happened which is that we value this relationship. It is a relationship that has served India well.”

Earlier in December 2023, Jaishankar travelled to Russia for a five-day visit and met Russian President Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russian Deputy PM Denis Manturov. During his meeting with Putin, he conveyed warm greetings of PM Modi and handed over a personal message. In a post on X, Jaishankar noted that he appreciated Putin’s guidance on further development on ties between India and Russia.

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At that time, Putin had extended an invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Russia in 2024.

“We will be glad to see our friend, Prime Minister Modi in Russia,” Vladimir Putin said during his meeting with Jaishankar. During PM Modi’s visit, “We will be able to discuss all the relevant, current issues and talk to the prospects of the Russian and Indian relationship,” Putin had then said.

Referring to Russia as India’s “valued and time-tested” partner, Jaishankar, after meeting Lavrov, had stressed the mutual benefits derived from the relationship. He highlighted advancements in trade, investment, military-technical cooperation, and connectivity projects as indicators of the significance India places on its ties with Moscow.

Speaking about India-Russia ties, he said, “I think I must have been reacting to how I was asked that particular question and I know that is not your intent. For us, Russia is a very valued partner. It’s a very time-tested partner. It’s a relationship from which both India and Russia have benefited enormously and my presence here today and the fact you know all the developments that I have pointed out including our growing trade, investments, our military-technical cooperation, our connectivity projects. I think all of this will give you a good sense of the importance and the value that we attach to the relationship.”

Jaishankar at various times has also spoken about the tradition of annual meetings between top leaders of India and Russia. He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not hold an annual meeting due to India’s G20 Presidency and preoccupations at the end of the year. He expressed confidence that the annual meeting will be held in 2024-25.

“I am very confident that we will see an annual summit next year and again, you know ours is really a relationship which at every level, starting with you know the relationship between the leaders to right down to the popular level, the societal sentiment, I think we have really very positive feelings for each other and I think that is a really big source of strength for the relationship,” he added.