Pranab meets Lavrov

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov more than a week after his visit to Moscow where the two did not not meet, triggering reports of a rebuff to the Indian leader.

The meeting, on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting here, discussed the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Russia next month and the latest situation on the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal.

“The two leaders dwelt a little bit on various elements of the bilateral relationship as we work towards the summit-level meeting,” Additional Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry Jaimani Bhagawati said briefing reporters on Mukherjee’s meeting with Lavrov.