Sergey Lavrov (L) and S Jaishankar. (File photo)
New Delhi: India’s foreign minister, S Jaishankar, will travel to Russia to meet with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov on November 8. Moscow, on Thursday, said the discussions would centre on bilateral relations and international developments.
Jaishankar’s visit comes at time in the ongoing Ukraine war when Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of using nuclear weapons. Recently, Kremlin said Ukraine was preparing to use a “dirty bomb”. It alleged that the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has ordered the development of a dirty radioactive bomb, which is nearing completion. It also stated that he could have the support of Ukraine’s western allies. Kyiv rubbished the allegation said that Moscow was making up an excuse to escalate the conflict.
It may be noted that soon after Moscow making the “dirty bomb” allegation against Ukraine, it announced plans to conduct annual nuclear force exercises. Earlier, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, had insinuated more than once that Russia can use a nuclear weapon in his country’s war against Ukraine. A few weeks ago, Chechen strongman and hardline Kremlin insider Ramzan Kadyrov openly called upon Putin to use a tactical nuclear weapon to stem the gains Ukrainian forces have made in the battlefield recently.
The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, called his Nato counterparts on Sunday to discuss the situation. Western countries that support Ukraine have dismissed the claims and accused Russia of scaremongering.
On Thursday, India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, told his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu that no side in the Ukraine conflict should use nuclear weapons.
According to a government official, he told Shoigu that the nuclear option “should not be resorted to by any side as the prospect of using nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic tenets of humanity.” Singh had told the same thing to the Russian foreign minister during a telephonic conversation on Wednesday.
