Russian Foreign Minister arrives in India amid Ukraine crisis

New Delhi: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in New Delhi on the first high-level visit by a Russian leader to India since Moscow’s war against Ukraine which began last month.

“Welcoming the Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov as he arrives in New Delhi for an official visit,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet. Lavrov, who arrived on Thursday on a two-day official visit, is expected to meet and hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday.

The Russian Foreign Minister reached New Delhi after his two-day visit to China.

New Delhi has seen a flurry of visits by foreign leaders over the past fortnight. China’s foreign minister Wang Yi had visited India last week.

Russian Foreign Minister this week participated in two multinational meetings on Afghanistan along with representatives from Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Lavrov also held meetings with representatives from China and Pakistan and attended a separate meeting of the “Extended Troika” with special Afghan envoys from China and the US.