No one will oppose if India backs such a process: Lavrov on Ukraine mediation

Praising India’s position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Lavrov said: “Western colleagues just made their real face known these days and I have not the slightest doubt that most countries… understand what is going on.”

In his public remarks, he repeatedly referred to Western countries as “unreliable”, pushed for dealing with India through their national payments systems — he even mentioned the RuPay platform — and advocated the rupee-rouble payment mechanism.

To a question on whether a rouble-rupee payment system was discussed in his talks with Jaishankar, Lavrov said such an arrangement was started for trade with countries like India and China many years ago and efforts to bypass the Western payment systems will now be intensified.

“I would recall that many years ago, we started moving in our relations with India, China (and) many other countries from using dollars and euros to more and more use of national currencies. Under the current circumstances, this trend, I believe, will be intensified, which is natural and obvious,” he said.

“We don’t want to depend on a system which would be closed anytime and we don’t want to depend on a system whose masters can steal your money overnight,” he said.

Jaishankar, on his part, mentioned the “difficult international environment” and made it clear that Delhi has “always been in favour of resolving differences and disputes through dialogue and diplomacy”.

Lavrov is the only visiting Foreign Minister to meet Modi in recent days — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was denied a meeting while British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss did not meet.

The Prime Minister’s Office, in a statement, said: “Foreign Minister Lavrov briefed the Prime Minister on the situation in Ukraine, including the ongoing peace negotiations. Prime Minister reiterated his call for an early cessation of violence, and conveyed India’s readiness to contribute in any way to the peace efforts.”

This was similar to what Jaishankar told Lavrov, but he had added the redlines of “respect for international law, UN Charter, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states” — Delhi’s position on Kremlin’s actions, articulated several times at the UN as well as in phone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Ministry of External Affairs said: “The two Ministers discussed developments pertaining to Ukraine. Minister Lavrov briefed the Indian side from Russia’s perspective, including the ongoing talks. EAM emphasised the importance of cessation of violence and ending hostilities. Differences and disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and by respect for international law, UN Charter, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states.”

Asked about India’s role as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine, Lavrov said: “I have not heard about such talks, frankly speaking. And the position of India which is not under any influence of the US dictates… India is an important and serious country. If it sees that to play that role, which provides a solution to the problem… The present condition is to provide equality and security and follow the principle of justice and India as our common partner.”

He spoke of the security guarantee being offered by Ukraine, and how the West has ignored responsibilities and forced Russia into this straight threat — ideological and military.

“And if India takes the position of a just and a rational approach towards international problems, then it can support such a process and then no one is against it,” Lavrov told reporters after the meeting with Jaishankar.

The only time India has talked about a possible role between Russia and Ukraine is during the February 26 phone call that Modi had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — two days after Russia invaded Ukraine. Modi had “expressed India’s willingness to contribute in any way towards peace efforts,” a PMO statement had said then.

At their meeting, Lavrov and Jaishankar assessed the overall state of cooperation and “considered the implications of recent developments on trade and economic relations,” the MEA said.

Jaishankar, the Ministry said, “underlined that as a developing economy, global volatility in different domains is of particular concern to India. It is important for both countries that their economic, technological and people-to-people contacts remain stable and predictable”.

They also discussed the situation in Afghanistan. “Minister Lavrov conveyed his assessment of the recent conference on Afghanistan in China. EAM noted that UNSCR 2593 expressed the concerns of the international community and spoke of humanitarian support for the Afghan people. Iran and the JCPoA issue were also featured in the talks. EAM welcomed the Russian briefing on the matter,” the MEA said.

Lavrov said Russia is looking at a “multipolar world” and referred to Jaishankar’s remarks Thursday along with Truss.

“I believe that India’s foreign policy is characterised by independence and concentration on real national legitimate interests,” he said.