Russian President Vladimir Putin to set to visit in December this year amid New Delhi’s strained ties with Washington.
Putin India visit: Moscow and New Delhi are working on finalizing the dates for Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in December this year, while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is likely to visit the country ahead of the Russian President’s trip to prepare for the the summit and discuss bilateral issues, ANI reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
When will Sergey Lavrov visit India?
Earlier, Sergey Lavrov had announced at the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that Russian President Vladimir Putin will embark on a state visit to New Delhi in December, marking the ongoing diplomatic preparations.
Speaking about India-Russia relations, Lavrov highlighted the depth of the bilateral agenda, covering trade, military and technical cooperation, finance, humanitarian matters, healthcare, high technology, artificial intelligence, and close coordination at international forums such as the SCO and BRICS.
Lavrov also spoke about India’s trade autonomy amid punitive tariffs imposed on Indian goods by US President Donald Trump for purchasing Russian oil, stating that New Delhi was “perfectly capable” of making its own decisions in bilateral trade relations, including its energy imports from Russia.
“(The economic partnership between India and Russia) is not under threat… The Indian Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs have made it clear that India chooses its own partners. If the US has proposals on how to enrich bilateral trade between the US and India, they are prepared to discuss the terms for that. But when it comes to trade, investment, economic, military, technological, and other relations between India and third states, it is something that India will discuss only with those states in question,” the Russia diplomat said.
Vladimir Putin to visit India in December
Russian President Vladimir Putin to set to visit in December this year amid New Delhi’s strained ties with Washington over the former’s purchase of Russian oil, which has invoked punitive tariffs on Indian imports from US President Donald Trump. Trump administration officials, including top secretaries like Howard Lutnick and Peter Navarro have accused India of “funding” Russia’s ‘war machine’ in Ukraine with its purchase of oil from Moscow.
However, India has defended its purchase of Russian crude oil, stating that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.
Notably, there’s an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant against Vladimir Putin, but the Russian leader’s visit to India is feasible because New Delhi is not a ICC signatory.
(With inputs from agencies)
