EAM Jaishankar, Russian counterpart Lavrov to hold talks in Moscow on Aug 21

Moscow, Aug 13 (IANS) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold a meeting with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar in Moscow on August 21, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday. The two leaders will discuss key issues on bilateral agenda and key aspects of cooperation within international frameworks.

In a post on X, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "FM Sergei Lavrov's schedule: On August 21, FM Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with FM of India Dr S Jaishankar in Moscow. The Ministers will discuss key issues on our bilateral agenda, as well as key aspects of cooperation within international frameworks."

The meeting follows National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval's recent visit to Moscow, where he met Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and Russia’s Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu.

The upcoming meeting between EAM Jaishankar and Lavrov comes after their talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers' Meeting on July 15.

The two ministers had also met on the sidelines of BRICS Summit last month and discussed bilateral cooperation, West Asia, BRICS and SCO.

Earlier this year, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had visited Moscow to hold bilateral Foreign Office Consultations with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko.

During the consultations on March 7, the two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties and also shared perspectives on regional and global issues of mutual interest. Both sides took stock of progress on implementation of decisions taken at the 22nd Annual Summit held in Moscow in July 2024, the meeting in Kazan on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin, the 25th session of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation held in New Delhi in November 2024, and other high level engagements.

In November 2024, Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and EAM Jaishankar had co-chaired the 25th meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation in New Delhi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is also expected to visit India following an invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The visit is being planned as part of the ongoing commitment to annual meetings between the two leaders.

--IANS

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