Looking Forward To Meetings With Russian Leadership, Says Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said he was looking forward to his engagements in Russia, including his meetings with the country's leadership as he arrived here for a five-day visit.

During his stay in Moscow, Jaishankar will hold talks with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov and discuss various bilateral and global issues.

''Arrived in Moscow. Look forward to my engagements,'' Jaishankar said in a post on X along with a picture.

In another post, Jaishankar shared his 1962 invite, when he was a child, to celebrate space exploration by Soviet cosmonauts.

He interacted with leading representatives of the Russian strategic community and discussed connectivity, multilateralism, big power competition and regional conflicts. ''An open and forward looking interaction with leading representatives of the Russian strategic community. Spoke about the importance of rebalancing and the emergence of multipolarity,'' Jaishankar said. He exchanged views on how India-Russia ties will develop in that framework and also discussed connectivity, multilateralism, big power competition and regional conflicts. ''Geopolitics and strategic convergence will always keep India-Russia ties on a positive trajectory,'' he said.

He will meet Russia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov to discuss matters related to economic engagement. He will also hold talks with his Russian counterpart Lavrov for discussion on bilateral, multilateral and international issues.

''The time-tested India-Russia partnership has remained stable and resilient and continues to be characterized by the spirit of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,'' the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in New Delhi on Sunday.

''Focusing on the strong people-to-people and cultural ties between our two countries, the external affairs minister's programme will include engagements in Moscow and St. Petersburg,'' the MEA said.

The two sides are expected to discuss various aspects of the bilateral relations, especially in areas of trade, energy, defence and connectivity.

The ties between India and Russia remained strong notwithstanding Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. India's import of Russian crude oil has gone up significantly despite increasing disquiet over it in many Western countries.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.