The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Jaishankar meets Lavrov, raises issue of Indian nationals fighting for Russian Army
EXTERNAL AFFAIRS MINISTER S Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Kazakhstan capital Astana on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit Wednesday and strongly raised the issue of Indian nationals fighting for the Russian Army in the war zone while pressing for their safe return.
Jaishankar is attending the SCO’S annual summit in place of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting comes ahead of Modi’s likely visit to Russia for the annual bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit, which is yet to be officially announced, is expected to take place on July 8-9.
Afterthemeetingwithlavrov, Jaishankar tweeted, “Good to meet Russian FM Sergey Lavrov in Astana today. Wide-ranging conversation on our bilateral partnership and contemporary issues. Noted the progress in many areas since our last meeting in December 2023.”
“Raised our strong concern on Indian nationals who are currently in the war zone. Pressed for their safe and expeditious return,” he said in his post.
In a post on X about the meeting,russianforeignministrysaid, “Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister of India Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hold talks on the sidelines of theshanghaicooperationorganisation (#SCO) Heads of State Council meeting. Astana, July 3.”
Over last few months, India hasbeenpressingrussiatoensure the safety and repatriation of its nationals employed by Russian Army and has taken immediate action on receiving information about “Indians in the war zone.”
According to reports, around 200 Indian nationals were recruited as security helpers in the Russian military. By mid-june, it was clear that four Indian nationals had died in the war zone, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
On June 12, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, “Since the first day, we have constantly been discussing this matter with Russian authorities, the system and the leadership. All of our efforts are aimed at keeping Indians safe.”
After the death of two Indians was confirmed, the MEA said India had strongly taken up the matter with Russia and sought early release and return of all Indian nationals who were with the Russian Army.
India had also demanded that there be a “verified stop to any further recruitment of Indian nationals” by the Russian Army and that such activities would not be in “consonance with our partnership.” By midjune, only about 10 Indians working as support staff with the Russian military were released and repatriated to India.
Jaishankar also discussed the global strategic landscape and exchanged assessments and views with Lavrov.
He also met Belarus Foreign minister Maksim Ryzhenkov Wednesday, and tweeted, “Welcome Belarus to the SCO as its newest member. Discussed our bilateral relationship and its future growth potential.” The meeting of the two Foreign Ministers came days after the first-ever India-belarus Consular Dialogue on June 28 in Minsk.
On Tuesday, Jaishankar had met Deputy PM of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu and discussed expanding Strategic Partnership and India's increasing engagement with Central Asia in various formats.