New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who arrived in Moscow on Monday as a part of his two-day visit to Russia, said the countries engage each other in increasingly multi-polar, re-balanced world and added that is due to an exceptionally steady and time-tested relationship between the two nations.
Jaishankar made the statement after holding talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.
“I believe this is the fifth time, we're meeting this year and that speaks of long-term partnership and the importance we attach to each other. I'm really glad to be here in Moscow today to carry forward this dialogue,” news agency ANI quoted Jaishankar as saying.
“Our meeting today is devoted to assessing state of our bilateral cooperation, exchange in perspectives on international situation and what that means to our respective interests. We'd be discussing how our shared goals are best achieved,” the minister added.
It is to be noted that the talks between the two sides covered a wide range of topics, including bilateral issues and exchange of views on various regional and international developments.
Speaking about the strong and continuing contact between both the governments at various levels, Jaishankar said that recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had met in Samarkand and also the defence ministers of both the nations have had recent discussions.
“We are now seeing the consequences of the Ukraine conflict. There are also the more perennial issues of terrorism and climate change, both of which have a disruptive impact on progress and prosperity,” EAM Jaishankar added.
Responding to a question on India's likely response to calls by West to cap Russian oil purchases, Jaishankar said, “As the third-largest consumer of oil and gas and where incomes are not very high, we need to look for affordable sources, so the India-Russia relationship works to our advantage. We will keep it going.”