Two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to form a permanent bilateral channel for consultations on Afghanistan, Russia’s National Security Advisor Nikolay Patrushev is visiting India for “high-level” discussions.
Besides his counterpart Ajit Doval, Patrushev is expected to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Prime Minister. In April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Delhi but did not meet the Prime Minister.
The Ministry of External Affairs said Patrushev’s visit for “High Level India-Russia Inter-Governmental Consultations on Afghanistan from 7-8 September 2021” follows an invitation from Doval.
At South Block, this visit is being seen as a signal from Moscow, which has emerged as a key player in the Afghanistan situation after the Taliban captured power and the US completed a chaotic exit.
Besides, India and Russia will be participating in two important virtual summits over the next 10 days — BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) — where Afghanistan is expected to dominate the conversation.