Natwar Singh praises Russian FM, calls him 'friend of India'

|HT|

Former foreign minister and veteran Congress leader Natwar Singh on Friday praised Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, calling him a 'friend of India'. Singh's comment came after Lavrov, who is on a two-day visit to New Delhi, praised India over its stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. Singh said India has 'good relations' with Russia and gets armaments from there. "Russia has said that Kashmir is [a] part of India, which the US and France haven't," he said.

The former foreign minister further stated that Lavrov, who met external affairs minister S Jaishankar and is scheduled to meet prime minister Narendra Modi, will explain Russia's policy on Ukraine. The visit of Lavrov to India comes as Russia has been slapped with sanctions after sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, which began more than a month ago. India has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and stressed the need for both sides to settle issues peacefully but has abstained from voting against Russia on all resolutions passed by the United Nations so far.

Earlier, during a meeting with Jaishankar, Lavrov said that Russia appreciates India taking the conflict 'in the entirety of effect and not just one-sided way'.

"India and Russia have been developing strategic partnerships and this has been our priority. We certainly are interested in having the world order balance," he said. Lavrov added that Russian president Vladimir Putin sends his 'best regards' to PM Modi.

Meanwhile, Russia is reportedly offering India major discounts on the direct purchase of oil. According to a Bloomberg report, Putin's side is willing to sell high-grade oil up to $35 less per barrel, which could soar to $45 less per barrel following the latest spike in global costs. Furthermore, Russia has offered rupee-ruble denominated payments using its SPFS financial messaging system.

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