Jaishankar to meet Russian counterpart today to discuss key regional issues

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Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is set to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Moscow on Monday.

The sides will discuss political communication between the two countries, as well as pressing bilateral, regional and international issues, including cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Brics, the United Nations, and the Group of 20, the Russian foreign ministry said.

Jaishankar is leading a delegation from India for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Heads of Government hosted by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on November 18.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson had earlier said that Jaishankar and Lavrov are also likely to touch upon preparations for Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi, as reported in TASS.

Putin had announced earlier that the trip was scheduled for early December, when India would host the 23rd annual bilateral summit. Ahead of the event, Putin ordered the Russian ministry to work out options for the development of trade and economic relations with India, particularly looking into issues related to logistics, payments, and a trade imbalance. Putin had last visited New Delhi in 2021.

Moscow and New Delhi signed a declaration on strategic partnership during the Russian president's state visit to India in 2000. The document became the foundation for regular summits and the development of multilateral cooperation mechanisms in the political, defense, economic, and other fields. In 2010, bilateral relations were elevated to the level of specially privileged strategic partnership.