During his official visit to India this Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assured that there had been some progress in negotiations on Ukraine’s neutral statusincluding a convergence of positions on the situation in the Donbass regions.
(You might be interested: Russians leave Chernobyl, but radioactive dust could reach Kyiv)
“These agreements must be concluded (…), there is some progress that admits the impossibility of Ukraine to be part of a bloc,” assured the head of Russian diplomacy, adding they found “an understanding” of the situation in the disputed Donbass region.
Lavrov made the remarks during his two-day official visit to India, a country that has maintained a neutral profile since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, and refrained from condemning the aggression at the UN General Assembly.
(Also read: Zelenskyj: Russian nuclear threat threatens global security)
The Russian Foreign Minister met his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar this Friday, whom he thanked for his neutral stance in the conflict, for having looked at the matter “holistically, not just from one side”. “We always respect each other’s interests (…) and that was the point of our conversation, which covered all bilateral areas,” the Russian minister summed up at the press conference after the meeting.
When asked about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s possible mediation in the conflict, Lavrov replied that he was not aware of that possibility, but stressed that India’s position “does not change because of dictates or threats,” which they respect this nation and others who “do not change their position under pressure” as possible intermediaries, since they are only trying to “solve the problem”.
(You may be interested in this: Russian troops begin withdrawal from Chernobyl nuclear power plant)
In addition to discussing the situation in Ukraine, lThe meeting between Lavrov and Jaishankar should also serve to ensure that both countries develop effective mechanisms payment to continue trading despite international sanctions weighing on Russia’s economy.
The greatest of these difficulties is related to the impossibility of a large part of Russian banks to access the international interbank communication system SWIFT, and the blockade of the foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of Russia, which severely limits its financial activities.
(You may be interested: Putin says he will suspend gas contracts if countries don’t pay in rubles)
However, Lavrov insisted on the possibility of continuing an exchange method based on national currencies, thus avoiding dependence on a financial system that “can close at any time” and whose creators “can steal your money at night”.
“It is absolutely clear that transactions are made through this system without the need to use dollars. Euro and other currencies, which have proven to be completely unreliable,” the diplomat said. In this way, he assured that if India wants to buy “any good” from Russia, “we will be ready to discuss mutually acceptable forms of cooperation and to achieve.”
For some analysts, India’s neutral position is defined by its deep military dependence on Russia, the supplier of between 60% and 70% of India’s weapons equipment, in addition to purchasing Russian crude oil, now at discounted prices, for the sanctions.
EFE
More news
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court will open an office in Venezuela
Biden says Putin may have ‘arrested’ some advisers
The man who buried 26 children alive and who would now be released