Raisina Dialogue: Russia tells India, China to mend fences

During the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed his desire for India and China to maintain a friendly relationship.

Lavrov cited Russia’s strong relationships with both nations, including its role in establishing the Russia-India-China (RIC) and BRICS initiatives.

He emphasised the importance of the two nations being on good terms, stating “We are interested in these two great nations (India and China) to be friends.”

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According to Lavrov, Russia’s involvement could potentially benefit India and China as they may prefer not to engage in direct talks. He also highlighted Russia’s commitment to promoting unity and bringing nations together.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, Lavrov questioned why the focus was solely on Russia’s willingness to negotiate, and not on Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s stance. Lavrov pointed out that Zelenskyy had signed a document criminalizing negotiation with Russia as long as Putin remained in power.

Lavrov’s comments were reported by ANI news agency.

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Furthermore, Lavrov stated that Russia would not permit the West to sabotage gas pipelines and would seek alternative energy partners, such as India and China, to meet their energy needs.

According to a Reuters report, Moscow has put forth the suggestion that the explosions causing damage to the Nord Stream pipelines in September were the work of western countries. This claim has been rejected by those countries. Moscow has also called for an international investigation into the incident.

The Raisina Dialogue, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), is a prominent think-tank event hosted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).