On Tuesday, India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar began a three-day visit to Russia. His trip to Moscow follows closely after National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s recent visit, where he discussed strengthening bilateral ties in energy and defence. During his visit, he will meet Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He will also co-chair the 26th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation. EAM Jaishankar’s visit to Russia comes amid tensions in India-U.S. relations over India’s ongoing trade with Russia.
In an official statement, the MEA said that the visit of the External Affairs Minister comes at the invitation of First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov, the External Affairs Minister.
“Dr. S. Jaishankar, will undertake an official visit to Russia on 19-21 August 2025 to co-chair the 26th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) scheduled for 20 August 2025.” said in a statement.
During his visit, EAM Jaishankar will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss India-Russia relations and share views on regional and global issues. The visit aims to strengthen the long-standing India-Russia strategic partnership.
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It comes amid tensions between India and the US over India’s purchase of crude oil from Russia. Trade relations are also strained, as the US team will not travel to India for the sixth round of bilateral trade talks scheduled for August 25. This follows President Trump imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, raising the total tariff to 50%, along with a penalty over India’s continued oil imports from Russia. Earlier, on August 13, the Russian Foreign Ministry had said that Jaishankar and Lavrov would discuss key bilateral issues and cooperation within international frameworks.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to share his views on the recent Alaska meeting with US President Donald Trump regarding the Ukraine conflict. PM Modi said that India has always supported a peaceful resolution to the conflict and expressed gratitude to Putin for the call and for sharing his perspective on the meeting.
