The Ukraine crisis is set to top the agenda when Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov travels to India for a short visit this week after meetings in China, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The Indian side will also host UK foreign secretary Liz Truss on March 31, the day when Lavrov is expected to arrive in New Delhi. Truss is expected to raise the Ukraine crisis with her Indian interlocutors as part of Britain’s ongoing efforts to support the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Lavrov is expected to hold bilateral talks and attend a meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries in China during March 30-31. This is the third such meeting being hosted by Beijing and is set to be attended by representatives of Pakistan, Iran, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
In New Delhi, Lavrov is expected to hold talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on April 1. The people cited above said the agenda for the visit and other meetings were still being firmed up. However, the conflict in Ukraine and its fallout is expected to figure in the discussions, they said.