PM Modi to meet Russian FM amid ongoing Moscow-Kiev war; US fumes

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in New Delhi for an official visit on Thursday, marking Russia's first high-level visit to India since Moscow started its military incursion against Ukraine on February 24. On April 1, Lavrov will meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

Arindam Bagchi, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), welcomed Lavrov with a video on Twitter.

Lavrov's trip to India coincides with that of US Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh and British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. Lavrov's travel to India comes after he visited China on Wednesday, when he spoke with representatives from Pakistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan over the Afghan crisis, according to sources.

The Russian Foreign Minister's visit also comes shortly after India abstained from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution supported by Russia (UNSC). Russia's resolution was seen negatively against Ukraine. The resolution was defeated because it lacked nine more votes. India's move sent a message to the Kremlin that it does not support the hostilities in Ukraine and is not allied with Moscow.

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India has repeatedly refrained from voting on UN Security Council measures aimed at isolating Russia. New Delhi urged both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to communicate directly in order for peace, discussion, and diplomacy to triumph over'military conflicts.' When India stated in February that it was worried by the events in Ukraine, it was implicitly expressing its disapproval with the loss of human life.