New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov ahead of the inaugural meeting of the 2 + 2 dialogue mechanism at the level of the foreign and defence ministers.
"The partnership between India and Russia is special and unique. I am confident that our discussions today will be very fruitful. The annual India-Russia summit is taking place after a gap of two years today. India is very conscious that in the world of rapid geopolitical changes, it has been remarkably steady and strong. We are very satisfied with our bilateral relations and the state of our cooperations," said Jaishankar during his meeting with Lavrov.
"Today we have an opportunity not only to discuss our bilateral ties and global situation," he added. Underscoring the importance of the India-Russia annual summit, the minister said, "Prime Minister Modi and President Putin share a relationship of great trust and confidence. We are looking forward to some very significant outcomes from the Summit."
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) last month had said that the agenda for the "two plus two" format dialogue between India and the Russian Federation will cover "political and defence issues of mutual interest".
"The agenda for the dialogue will cover political and defence issues of mutual interest. The establishment of this new mechanism of two plus two dialogue is expected to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries," MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said in November.
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