Conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

In this special episode of India, Russia and the World, Runjhun Sharma sits down with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The foreign minister compared Western pressure on Global South countries over their trade with Russia to “neocolonial methods,” noting that Moscow respects India’s position that its energy imports are dictated by national interests and market terms.

Speaking ahead of his trip to New Delhi for the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting, Lavrov said the group can play a significant role in shaping efforts to end hostilities in the Middle East.

Lavrov described Russia-India ties as “impossible to destroy,” citing decades of cooperation in defense, technology, space, and now energy and manufacturing. “We started with Brahmos missiles, then Kalashnikov machine guns, and now it is also T-90 tanks being produced in India,” he said.

He praised Modi as “one of the most vibrant leaders the world has ever seen,” focused on “achieving absolute sovereignty in all spheres, be it the economy, military defense, culture, and naturally, maintaining the civilizational heritage that India has like no other.”