External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar arrived in Moscow on Tuesday as part of this two-day visit. The EAM will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Denis Manturov amid expectations about India's role in brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine.
According to the External Affairs Ministry, Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart will discuss bilateral issues and "various regional and international developments
Russia's foreign ministry too has issued a statement on the impending meeting, claiming Jaishankar and Lavrov will discuss trade and investment, the use of national currencies for trade, "promising projects" in the energy sector and the formation of a security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region.
Adding that Russia and India stand for the formation of a "more just" and "polycentric" world order, the statement said the countries want to move on from the "inadmissibility of promoting the imperialist diktat on the global arena."
"Both countries demonstrate the proximity of positions on the most pressing issues and stand for the adherence to the universally recognised norms of international law, enshrined in the UN Charter," the ministry said.
It added: "We are aimed at promoting a unifying agenda and building a constructive dialogue in the field of interstate relations."
The ministry said the duo will exchange assessments of the current international issues with an emphasis on interaction within the UN, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), G20 and the Russia-India-China trilateral.
"The ministers will also discuss India's presidency in the SCO, efforts to fight terrorism, as well as a number of the regional issues, including the formation of a security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region, the situation around the Iranian nuclear problem, state of affairs in Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine," it said.
Jaishankar and Lavrov have already met four times after the Ukraine conflict began in February.
Their meeting comes as Western media pins hope on India's good relations with both the East and West to coerce Russia to end the war.
In an article published on Monday, the New York Times, quoting experts, said India would be a strong candidate with credibility on both sides if Russia and Ukraine were to express interest in having a neutral third-party mediation.
The NYT report too highlights Modi's "good rapport with Russia’s leader" and how he shares certain strongman characteristics with Putin. "He can speak to Russia directly, which may be why Macron approached Modi about joint peace talks," the article read, referencing the French President's recent idea of hosting peace talks along with Modi.
