Indian foreign minister on meet with Lavrov: ‘Briefed on war from Russian perspective’

Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar - who is attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session in the United States - briefed about his discussion with Ukraine's prime minister Denys Shmyhal where he had reiterated India's stand on the conflict.

"Big concern was conflict itself. He gave me his perception & concerns of Ukraine. In terms of India, we had a discussion on our position. He appreciated that we were against continuation of conflict & for return to dialogue & diplomacy," news agency ANI quoted Jaishankar as saying.

Jaishankar also recalled his meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the 77th UNGA session being held in New York. Apart from discussing issues related to bilateral cooperation, Jaishankar said he was briefed on developments related to the ongoing war from "Russian perspective" and the two leaders also spoke about the upcoming G20 meet.

"Discussed bilateral cooperation, UN reform, spoke on issues related to Ukraine. He briefed me about developments from Russian perspective. There was discussion on G20 as it's coming up in few months."

Addressing a briefing, Jaishankar also hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and said India has been perceived today as the voice of the global south.

"Climate emergencies challenging, happened in South Asia, Europe. Leadership India has shown in this has driven interest in working with us. Under PM Modi, delivery is his forte... Translating vision into delivery is PM Modi's strong point," the foreign minister further said.

The Ukraine war dominated the world's top diplomatic stage this week and India has stressed the need to end the war through diplomacy and dialogue. "We are often asked whose side we are on. And our answer, each time, is straight and honest. India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there," Jaishankar had said.