After NSA Ajit Doval, now Ram Madhav visits Russia to boost relations

Days after national security adviser Ajit Doval visited Moscow, BJP general secretary and Prime Minister’s key foreign policy aide Ram Madhav has followed suit and is meeting senior officials this week as India steps up engagement with Russia at a time when Russia is facing increasing pressure from Western powers on several counts.

These visits come within a week of PM Narendra Modi’s phone call with President Vladimir Putin amid India distancing itself from the airstrikes in Syria and calling for a probe by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) into the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Bashar-al-Assad regime.

On Wednesday, Madhav met Russian deputy foreign minister Igor Morgulov in Moscow to discuss the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, where India is expanding its strategic presence.

The two leaders, besides deliberating upon various aspects of the bilateral partnership, also discussed bilateral coordination on multilateral platforms, including those involving the Indo-Pacific region, according to people aware of the matter.

Madhav is in Russia for the Second Sochi Eurasian Integration Forum, which will feed into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) process and SCO Summit.

PM Modi will participate at the SCO Summit in June in China, with an eye on increasing India’s footprint in the Eurasian region. India was admitted to the SCO at last year’s summit.

Madhav also met the secretary of General Council of United Russia Party Andrei Turchak to discuss party-to-party cooperation.

ET View: Strengthen Ties
India must ensure its relationship with Russia remains strong, even as it builds new partnerships. New Delhi must focus on making Moscow understand the value of stronger bilateral ties especially in the context of Russia’s problematic relationship with Europe and the US. Despite divergences on the importance of following democratic norms and respect for sovereignty, Russia must remain our strategic ally.