India on Wednesday pressed Russia for the safe and speedy return of Indian nationals serving in the Russian military who are caught up in the Ukraine war as external affairs minister S Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to review bilateral relations.
The meeting between the two foreign ministers, on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in the Kazakhstan capital of Astana, also helped prepare the grounds for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow during July 8-9.
Jaishankar, who is representing India at the SCO Summit following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to skip the meet, indicated in a post on X that he had raised the issue of Indians serving in the Russian military. “Raised our strong concern on Indian nationals who are currently in the war zone. Pressed for their safe and expeditious return,” he said without directly referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Last month, India said it expects Russia to act on New Delhi’s demand for a “verified stop” to the recruitment of Indian nationals in the Russian Army following the death of four Indians while serving on the frontlines of the conflict with Ukraine.
The Indian side had demanded for a “verified stop” to further recruitment of Indians by the Russian Army on June 11 after the deaths of two Indians last month. India had resorted to the unusual step of making the demand soon after the foreign secretary attended the National Day reception at the Russian embassy.
About 25 Indians serving with the Russian military have so far contacted authorities seeking help to be released. Of them, 10 have been released and repatriated to India. Reports have suggested up to 200 Indians had been recruited by the Russian military to serve as support staff, such as cooks and helpers, though the people cited above said the number could be about 100.
India has so far refrained from censuring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and only called for the two countries to end hostilities and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy to find a solution to their differences.
Jaishankar said in his post on X that he and Lavrov had a wide-ranging conversation on the bilateral partnership and contemporary issues. “Noted the progress in many areas since our last meeting in December 2023. Also discussed the global strategic landscape and exchanged assessments and views,” he said.
People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that the meeting allowed the two sides to prepare for Modi’s upcoming visit to Russia, his first trip since 2019, and also the first since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to participate in the annual India-Russia Summit, which hasn’t been held in the past two years. This meeting is expected to reinvigorate the bilateral relationship and set the course for the coming years, including cooperation in key areas such as energy, defence, space and civilian nuclear power.
Shortly after arriving in Astana on Tuesday, Jaishankar met Kazakh foreign minister Murat Nurtleu and discussed the bilateral strategic partnership and India’s increasing engagement with Central Asia. On Wednesday, Jaishankar is also expected to meet his counterparts from Belarus, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
