diplomacy and dialogue a chance had not been heeded, it stopped short of criticising Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, and has even decided to buying Russian commodities at a discounted rate. The matter is expected to be the subject of discussion during Minister Truss’ visit to India, which, interestingly, coincides with the visit of a top Russian government official.
It is reported that Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov is also due to visit the South Asian nation today, marking the highest level of engagement between Moscow and Delhi since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late-February. According to the British Foreign Ministry, during her time in India, Truss will highlight the “importance of democracies working together to deter aggressors”, and will call for stronger relations with India to boost security and jobs in both countries. “This matters even more in the context of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and underlines the need for free democracies to work closer together in areas like defence, trade and cyber security,” the Foreign Secretary said in a statement.
It is believed that the India’s stand on the Ukraine conflict has strained its relations with the United Kingdom, with Britain’s International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan saying London was very disappointed by the approach taken by the South Asian nation on this matter. She went on to note that she hopes India’s views would change as the British government intends to continue to work with countries in order to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin is “unable to fund this war in the future”.
