Moscow visit comes weeks ahead of G-20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New Delhi
New Delhi: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the implementation of the India-Russia strategic partnership, Indian embassysources in Moscow said on Thursday, Feb 9, a PTI report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says
“NSA Ajit Doval called on HE President Putin. Wide-ranging discussion on bilateral and regional issues. Agreed to continue work towards implementing the India-Russia strategic partnership,” the embassy tweeted.
On Wednesday, Feb 8, Doval attended the fifth multilateral meeting of Secretaries of Security Councils/NSAs on Afghanistan was hosted by Russia.
“We are also worried about attempts to use the situation in Afghanistan to allow extra-regional forces to expand or build their infrastructure,” Putin said, according to the Kremlin.
“These countries will create this under the pretext of countering international terrorism, but they are not doing anything that is really necessary in the real counterterrorism struggle,” he said.
“Obviously, the situation in the country is not improving and we see this. The humanitarian situation is worsening,” Putin added.
In his address at the multilateral meeting on Afghanistan, Doval said no country should be allowed to use Afghan territory to export terrorism and asserted that India will never abandon people of Afghanistan.
Also attending the meeting were representatives from Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Doval began his two-day visit to Russia on Wednesday.
The NSA’s visit to Russia came three months after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visit to the country. At that time the two sides had pledged to expand their economic engagement including India’s import of petroleum products
Doval’s visit to Moscow precedes the G-20 foreign ministers’ meeting on March 1 and 2 in New Delhi. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to attend the meeting.
Ties between India and Russia have remained strong notwithstanding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion and has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
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