Russia’s Lavrov meets India’s Modi in Delhi, praising nation for not taking ‘one-sided’ view on Ukraine invasion

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip comes amid pressure on India to economically isolate Moscow; Lavrov said he hoped both would bypass sanctions

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in India last week but did not meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi; neither did Britain’s Liz Truss on Thursday

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 1 in New Delhi

Published: 8:58pm, 1 Apr 2022Updated: 10:28am, 12 Apr 2022

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday to shore up support from the Asian nation amid ongoing Western efforts to pressure world leaders to economically isolate Moscow.

The meeting was significant given that Modi was not reported to have met other top diplomats who have visited Delhi recently, including Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon.

“The 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,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement late on Thursday.

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar meets his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Photo: Twitter

Before calling on Modi, Lavrov, who arrived from China where he met Wang, praised India for not taking a “one-sided” position on its invasion of Ukraine.

India has not backed any United Nations resolutions to condemn Russia, in a reflection of the Cold War-era partners’ deep bilateral ties.

“The Western world wants to reduce any meaningful relationship to the crisis in Ukraine … we appreciate that India is taking this situation in the entirety of facts, not just in a one-sided way,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov’s trip came on the back of US, British and European diplomats meeting their counterparts in New Delhi to discuss the sanctions that the US and its allies have imposed on Russian banks, oligarchs and companies.