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Bloomberg
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit New Delhi this week, The Hindu newspaper reported, citing unnamed officials. The visit would the highest-level visit from Moscow since Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine.
Indian and Russian officials are expected to discuss the sale of Russian crude oil to India and also work out a rupee-ruble denominated payment method for oil and other goods that could work outside the SWIFT messaging system, the report said.
Lavrov’s visit will follow Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Delhi to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as their own two-year-old border standoff. India is also under pressure from its fellow members of the Quad grouping, which includes the US, Australia and Japan, to take a stronger stand against Russia as the US and its allies try to isolate and punish Moscow.
China and India haven’t condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two nations are expected to participate in the BRICS summit, which includes Russia, Brazil and South Africa, scheduled in China. No dates have been set for that meeting yet.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs didn’t immediately reply to text messages seeking confirmation of Lavrov’s visit.