NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing war with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will arrive in New Delhi for a two-day visit to India starting on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced.
This will be the first visit of any high-level Russian leadership since the beginning of the war in Ukraine and the third foreign visit of Lavrov after February 24, when Russia launched what it calls “a special military operation” in the neighbouring country.
Foreign Minister Lavrov is likely to fly to New Delhi from China where he met Pakistan Foreign Minister SM Qureshi.
Before his visit, the Russian foreign minister blamed the United States and the Western countries for trying to make Ukraine a conflict-zone for their benefits.
“Those who tried to make Afghanistan the centre of world politics, now try to make Ukraine to replace Afghanistan. And we all understand what it is about,” he said in China, as per a tweet posted by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Russia has recently offered to sell its crude oil to India at a cheap rate and bear the cost of insurance and transportation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have spoken over phone several times since the war. PM Modi has urged the Russian leader to resolve the matter through dialogue and diplomacy.
President Putin visited New Delhi in December last year.