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Roman Babushkin, Charge d'Affaires of the Russian Embassy in India, highlighted how the India-Russia partnership remains resilient despite international pressure and sanctions on Moscow, stressing that attempts to "derail" ties between the two countries "have failed".
Speaking to the media, Roman Babushkin said cooperation between Russia and India has continued without interruption in recent years. "Our cooperation, our ties, our dialogue remained uninterrupted, irrespective of whether somebody wants it or not," the Russian envoy said. He said the speculation that sanctions against Russia would weaken its partnership with India had repeatedly proven wrong. "Any attempts of any other countries to derail our partnership have failed because if you look at our dialogue, especially during the recent four years, when Russia was subject to sanctions many times, and each and every time, there were some doubts and rumours that it would now actually lead to the disruption of our partnership," he said. "It never happened because we have earned this tremendous level of goodwill, which helps us and which motivates us to find mutually beneficial and acceptable solutions on how we can proceed in new circumstances," he added. Babushkin said the two countries have introduced new mechanisms to maintain economic and trade cooperation despite restrictions. "We have developed a new settlement scheme and models based on national currencies. We are developing new logistics. We are developing alternative areas and mechanisms of cooperation," he said. "So our cooperation will continue despite anything," he added. The Russian diplomat also referred to recent consultations between the two countries on global issues. "You may have seen the press release by the external affairs ministry that some consultations took place between Russia and India on the United Nations-related issues," Babushkin said. "It was an opportunity to discuss a lot of points, including the current situation in the Middle East. So our dialogue remains uninterrupted, robust, and Russia and India remain reliable partners for each other," he added. Earlier on March 11, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, during which both leaders exchanged assessments on the ongoing conflict in West Asia and reviewed related diplomatic efforts. In a post on X, Jaishankar described the interaction with Lavrov as a "good telecon", emphasising that the discussions covered mutual perspectives on the escalating situation in the Middle East and the broader diplomatic initiatives underway to address the crisis. He also noted that they took stock of the India-Russia bilateral cooperation agenda. "A good telecon with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia. Shared our assessments on the West Asia conflict and related diplomatic efforts. Also took stock of our bilateral cooperation agenda," the EAM stated in his post. (ANI)
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