EAM Jaishankar meets Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on G20 sidelines in Johannesburg

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Johannesburg to further the ties amid fast changing geo-politics.

The meeting with Lavrov assumes significance amid a thaw in US-Russia ties close on the heels of Lavrov's meetings with the US delegation in Riyadh and proposed meeting between the presidents of USA and Russia in near future to further peace in Ukraine. Thaw in the USA-Russia ties and possible relaxation of sanctions on Russia and easing of financial architecture will also lead to improvement in India-Russia business ties which have had a major momentum in the last three years.

The proposed Jaishankar and Chinese FM Wang Yi meeting have raised expectations of furthering bilateral discussion towards stabilising ties. India and China may use the platform to further their dialogue, with the goal of achieving broader consensus on border stability.