Useful exchanges on issues of common interest, says Jaishankar after meeting Russian counterpart

Appreciating the steady progress of bilateral ties between Russia and India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that he had useful exchanges on issues of common interest with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during their meeting.

"Met FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia for the fourth time this year. Appreciated the steady progress in our bilateral cooperation. Very useful exchanges on issues of common concern and interest," the External Affairs Minister said on Twitter.

Earlier today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had met with Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu here at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan.

India and Russia have signed a number of agreements, contracts and protocols covering small arms and military cooperation, Rajnath Singh said following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu.

Later in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold the 21st annual India-Russia summit.

It will be the first face-to-face meeting between Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after the meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in November 2019.

On Saturday, the Russian Ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev had said that he is expecting a "sizeable and formidable joint political statement" from the annual summit.

(ANI)