Jaishankar talks to Lavrov, Russia’s powerful foreign min

New York: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that he had a wide-ranging conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during which they discussed a number of issues, including bilateral cooperation, the Ukraine conflict, G20 and UN reforms as he described Russia a “major partner in many domains.” Jaishankar made the remarks during his interaction with a group of Indian reporters after his meeting with Lavrov on the margins of the UN General Assembly session, just hours before his address to the UN General Debate on Saturday. “We discussed a number of issues. Some part of my meeting was focused on our bilateral cooperation because Russia is a major partner in many domains,” Jaishankar said while responding to a question by PTI on his meeting with Lavrov.

To another question, he said while “obviously” there are big issues, which focus both the Russians and the rest of the world, the relationship has to address its own requirements, processes and objectives. “We spend some time on the bilateral side, where things are, taking stock,” he said, adding that they also spoke in “some detail” about issues related to Ukraine. “A lot of it was he briefed me about various developments from the Russian perspective. I also shared with him what I picked up from some of the others. So that was a back and forth conversation,” Jaishankar said as he wrapped up the New York leg of his visit to the US. He said there was also a discussion on the G-20, with India beginning the G-20 presidency this December. “Russia is very much at the centre of debate where G-20 is concerned. And finally, we spoke about the UN reform.” The meeting in New York is the fourth between Jaishankar and Lavrov this year, including on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers’ conclave in Indonesia in Bali and when Lavrov was in New Delhi earlier this year.