External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will travel to Russia at the beginning of the freezing winter next week to offer some warmth.
Jaishankar will meet his counterpart Sergey Lavrov. “Discussions are expected to cover the entire range of bilateral issues as well as an exchange of views on various regional and international developments,’’ said external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at the weekly media briefing.
He will also meet the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov, his counterpart for the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation. “Issues pertaining to bilateral economic cooperation in various domains will be discussed,’’ said Bagchi.
His two-day visit comes at a crucial time when the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict has resulted in rising energy costs and affected daily lives across the world.
For India, apart from energy costs, the conflict is set to push the government’s fertiliser subsidy bill to at least Rs 2.2 lakh crore, according to reports. The cabinet, on Wednesday, approved Rs 51,875 crore subsidy for phosphatic, and potassic fertilisers for rabi season, which was a 100 per cent more than last year.
Beyond the domestic compulsions of India, Jaishankar’s visit comes at a time when there are also pressing global concerns.
Russia has withdrawn from its participation in the operations of the U.N.-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative, citing attacks on ships at the Ukraine port of Sevastopol. This has sent alarm bells ringing across the world. As pressure on Russia mounts to return to the agreement, India has expressed concern over the suspension of the deal.
“The Black Sea Grain Initiative and cooperation by the parties so far had provided a glimmer of hope for peace in Ukraine. The agreements, a result of the secretary general’s efforts, were aimed to avert a global food crisis and ensure food security,” R. Madhusudan, Counselor at the Permanent Mission of India at the United Nations in New York, said after a briefing at the Security Council on the initiative. “The suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative is expected to further exacerbate the food security, fuel and fertiliser supply challenges faced by the world, particularly the Global South,” he said.
While the MEA refused to comment on the specifics of what will come up in the meetings, India is likely to repeat its stand on peaceful resolution of the crisis.
Apart from choosing not to toe the Western line on Ukraine, India has increased its purchase of oil from Russia. In September, imports of Russian oil stood at 23 per cent according to news reports, up from 19 per cent from the previous month. Minister for Urban Development Hardeep Singh Puri, in an interview with CNN this week, on being asked if there was a moral conflict in buying oil from Russia, said, “We owe a moral duty to our consumers.”
“We don't feel any pressure. Modi's government doesn't feel the pressure. We are the fifth largest economy in the world,” he said during the interview. “India will respond according to its supreme national interest."
However, Jaishankar’s visit to Russia has more at stake than just reiterating the strength of the relationship. It is also tied to India’s ambition of being a world power. “In recent years we have seen how trade, connectivity, debt, resources, and even tourism have become points of political pressure. The Ukraine conflict has widened the scope of political leveraging," Jaishankar said at IIM Calcutta on Wednesday.
While he emphasised India’s neutral stand on the conflict and called for peace, Jaishankar also stressed that India has the ability and the responsibility to shape the global landscape. “India has not only to stand up for its own welfare but speak on behalf of the Global South" he said.