Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin held the 21st India-Russia summit, covering an array of areas with an aim to further enhance the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries.
They welcomed the guests before the start of the dinner from the reception dais, with its backdrop showcasing the ruins of the Nalanda University in Bihar besides India's G20 presidency theme -- 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - One Earth, One Family, One Future'.
A day ahead of a crucial G20 meeting, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday evening hosted a welcome dinner for the foreign ministers attending the deliberations but the reception was missed by his counterparts from the US, China, Germany and France.
Doval's visit to Moscow comes weeks ahead of the G-20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi.
Earlier this week, Guterres had written to Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to receive him in Moscow and Kyiv 'to discuss urgent steps to bring about peace in Ukraine'.
'Pleasure to meet FM Sergey Lavrov, this time in person. Excellent talks that reflect our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. Value our exchanges on the international situation,' Jaishankar tweeted after talks with his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the SCO meeting.
India's dream to be in the forefront of international politics has come true. India has placed itself firmly as a major player in the shaping of a new world order, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
There is a congruence of interests between Ukrainian intelligence and its Western mentors to destroy Wagner and eliminate it from the geopolitical chessboard altogether, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'China seems more intent on creating a new world order rather than shaping the existing one.' 'India is of course, at this moment in time, aligned with the West-led order because of China's full-spectrum aggressive behaviour towards India.'
Modi also invoked Mahatma Gandhi and Buddha to urge the delegates to draw inspiration from India's civilisational ethos and "focus not on what divides us, but on what unites us."
"We foresee a very intensive engagement during the day that will culminate in the summit," the MEA spokesperson said.
Russia President Vladimir Putin on Monday described India as a great power, a friendly nation and a time-tested friend and echoed common concerns over terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime as he held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his opening remarks at the talks, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh asserted that India is confident of overcoming the challenges with a strong political will and an inherent capability of its people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bali on Monday for the G20 Summit and bilateral meetings on its sidelines with key leaders attending this annual conference of the world's major economies.
Market gauges Sensex and Nifty extended their losing streak to the sixth session on Wednesday as lingering Ukraine crisis continued to dent investor sentiment. The Sensex closed 68.62 points or 0.12 per cent lower at 57,232.06 and the Nifty ended 28.95 points or 0.12 per cent down at 17,063.25. For better part of session, both indices traded in the positive territory tracking mostly higher Asian peers as investors hoped that Western sanctions on Russia after Moscow's troop movements near Ukraine border might soften Vladimir Putin defiant tone and leave some room to avoid war. The Sensex breadth was equally divided between gains and losses.
Emphasising that various issues are on agenda at the G20 under India's leadership.
The phone conversation came days after it emerged that Modi will not be travelling to Russia for the annual India-Russia summit this year.
Glimpses of destroyed Russian tanks, helicopter, weapons in Ukraine.
The discussions took place on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.
Foreign ministers of G20 major economies will meet in the national capital on March 1 and 2 to deliberate on pressing global challenges amid escalating confrontation between Russia and the West over the Ukraine conflict that entered the second year this week.
China's Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu and Acting Minister of Refugee Affairs of the Afghan caretaker government Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani attended the handover ceremony at the airport.
The development comes following the third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Belarus on Monday, which apparently ended up in failure.
Jaishankar said he emphasised that India supports diplomacy and dialogue as the "way out".
The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on Friday evening on a draft resolution on Russia's military operation in Ukraine as well as the escalating situation in the eastern European country.
These sweeping financial sanctions follow the action earlier this week to cut off Russia's frozen funds in the United States to make debt payments.
In the summit as well as in the inaugural '2+2' defence and foreign ministerial talks, the two sides are also expected to focus on the situation in Afghanistan and the rising threat of terrorism including from groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
The phone conversation between Jaishankar and Blinken came days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov paid a two-day visit to India.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Phnom Penh on Sunday and discussed bilateral ties, the raging Ukraine conflict, energy issues, G20 and the situation in the Indo-Pacific, days ahead of a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on Wednesday refused to speculate on whether the G20 foreign ministers' meeting would be able to come out with a joint communique against the backdrop of widening differences between the West and Russia on the Ukraine conflict.
The G20's Bali Declaration Wednesday acknowledged differences among members on the Russia-Ukraine war but said it was essential to adhere to international law, including protection of civilians caught in conflicts.
India has not been invited to a crucial meeting being convened by Russia on the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan that is expected to see the participation of Pakistan, China and the US, people familiar with the development said on Thursday.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday had 'fruitful and productive' meetings with top Russian diplomats on bilateral issues as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest and the two sides discussed ways to further strengthen the bilateral Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
Notwithstanding its continuing military strikes against Ukraine, Russia has started supplying some components of the second regiment of the S-400 Triumf missile defence system to India, people familiar with the development said on Friday.
"The fight against impunity is critical to the larger pursuit of securing peace and justice. The Security Council must send an unambiguous and unequivocal message on this count," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the 15-nation UN Security Council briefing on Ukraine 'Fight against impunity'.
'The really striking thing is that the Taliban has suo moto presented to us certain firm benchmarks against which it expects us to hold to account the Taliban rulers's actions in the period ahead' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday underlined the need for not promoting any restrictions on the supply of energy and called for ensuring stability while once again emphasising on resolving the Ukraine conflict through diplomacy.
'We should give (Mueller) credit. In general, he conducted an objective probe and confirmed the absence of any traces and collusion between Russia and the current administration'
Guterres, who opened an emergency meeting of the 15-nation Security Council on Ukraine late Wednesday, in his brief off-the-cuff remarks said 'if indeed an operation is being prepared, I have only one thing to say from the bottom of my heart: President Putin, stop your troops from attacking Ukraine. Give peace a chance. Too many people have already died'.
Earlier on Sunday, Macron spoke with Biden and Putin on the Ukraine situation.
The Centre is unlikely to announce an agreement over payment mechanism with Russia until a ceasefire is declared in the Ukraine war, said people in the know. An inter-ministerial group headed by the finance ministry has been meeting regularly for over a month to analyse and discuss payment mechanisms that can work under the current circumstances and ensure the trade between India and Russia is not disrupted. The US had recently said that there would be consequences for countries actively attempting to "circumvent or backfill" American sanctions against Russia.
