As Modi skips annual summit again, Jaishankar goes to Russia for talks

Shortly after his arrival, Jaishankar tweeted, “Arrived in Moscow. Look forward to my engagements.”

India and Russia have an annual summit at the leaders’ level, where the Indian Prime Minister and the Russian President visit each other’s country every alternate year. So far, 21 annual summits have taken place alternatively in India and Russia.

An open and forward looking interaction with leading representatives of the Russian strategic community.

Spoke about the importance of rebalancing and the emergence of multipolarity.

Exchanged views on how India-Russia ties will develop in that framework. Also discussed… pic.twitter.com/4yfIh8bfhY

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) December 25, 2023

The last summit was held on December 6, 2021 in New Delhi, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit.

After the war in Ukraine broke out, Modi did not travel to Russia for the annual summit last year, and Putin could not come for the G20 summit in Delhi in September this year.

While it was the Indian Prime Minister’s turn to visit Russia for the annual summit, the visit has not taken place this year as well. No reasons have been cited so far, and “scheduling” has been the key challenge, sources said.

Jaishankar, who started his diplomatic career from Russia, has now gone there to meet the Russian leaders. During his visit, he will also travel to St. Petersburg.

“The time-tested India-Russia partnership has remained stable and resilient and continues to be characterized by the spirit of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in New Delhi on Sunday.

The minister will meet Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov to discuss matters related to economic engagement. He will also hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov for discussion on bilateral, multilateral and international issues.

“Focusing on the strong people-to-people and cultural ties between our two countries, the External Affairs Minister’s programme will include engagements in Moscow and St. Petersburg,” the MEA said.

The two sides are expected to discuss various aspects of the bilateral relations, especially in areas of trade, energy, defence and connectivity.

India has a longstanding and wide-ranging cooperation with Russia in the field of defence. India-Russia military technical cooperation has evolved from a buyer-seller framework to one involving joint research, development and production of advanced defence technologies and systems.

India has a huge dependence on Russia for defence supplies — in the range of 60 to 70 per cent — although Delhi is trying to diversify its sources.

Since the Russia-Ukraine war, India has also been buying Russian oil at discounted prices, and that has helped it to cushion the inflationary pressure on the oil prices in the country.

While India has not yet explicitly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has condemned the Bucha massacre as well as expressed concern at the nuclear rhetoric by the Russian leaders.

Putin has been appreciative of the Indian position several times, and praised Modi’s stance — in the face of western pressure — publicly. Delhi has underlined that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue. Modi had, in September last year, told Putin that “this is not the era of war”.

Russia is also an important partner for India in the area of peaceful use of nuclear energy. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is a flagship project between India and Russia in this sphere. KNPP Units 1 & 2 have already become operational and construction of Units 3 & 4 and 5 & 6 is going on.

The cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of outer space dates back to about four decades. The two countries are cooperating closely under India’s first human spaceflight program “Gaganyaan”.

Officials said that all these issues are expected to be discussed during Jaishankar’s meetings.