Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will pay an official visit to New Delhi from 31 March to 1 April, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday. This visit comes amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. This will be Lavrov’s first visit to India since Moscow began its “special military operation” in Ukraine last month. Lavrov is currently holding multinational meetings in Tunxi, China. The Russian Foreign Minister is taking part in two multinational meetings on Afghanistan along with representatives from Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Russian foreign minister on Wednesday held meetings with representatives from China and Pakistan. “Those who tried to make Afghanistan centre of the world politics, now try to make Ukraine to replace Afghanistan. And we all understand what it is about,” Lavrov said during talks with his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Lavrov will also attend a separate meeting of the “Extended Troika” with special Afghan envoys from China and the US.
Keeping up its streak of abstentions on Ukraine-related resolutions at the UN, India on Thursday abstained in rapid succession for the sixth and seventh time at the General Assembly which confronted duelling resolutions. The Assembly approved a resolution on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine proposed by that country criticising Russia’s role, but it throttled another put forward by South Africa that did not mention Moscow.
India’s Permanent Representative T.S. Tirumurti said at the Assembly’s emergency session that New Delhi abstained on the resolution proposed by Ukraine because it “did not fully reflect” India’s expected focus on “on cessation of hostilities and on urgent humanitarian assistance”. The resolution blaming Russia passed with 140 votes, with five against and 37 abstentions. It had more than the required two-thirds majority to pass.