New Delhi: Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation who is on a visit to India to participate in the Raisina Dialogue, called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today.
Foreign Minister Lavrov conveyed to the Prime Minister greetings from H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation. The Prime Minister warmly reciprocated, the greetings and conveyed his best wishes for peace and prosperity of the Russian people in the New Year.
The Prime Minister referred to the wide-ranging conversation he had with President Putin over telephone on 13 January 2020, and noted the progress in the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the previous year.
Foreign Minister Lavrov conveyed that President Putin looked forward to the visit of the Prime Minister to Russia in May 2020 to participate in the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the Victory Day, and in July 2020 for the BRICS and SCO Summits. Prime Minister welcomed multiple occasions this year to meet President Putin, and said that he also looked forward to hosting President Putin in India for the Annual Bilateral Summit later this year.
The Prime Minister noted that several important decisions and outcomes were reached between the two countries in 2019. He suggested that the year 2020, which is also the 20th anniversary year of the establishment of strategic partnership between India and the Russian Federation, should be the ‘year of implementation of those decisions’.
Foreign Minister Lavrov briefed the Prime Minister on Russia’s position on key international and regional issues.