India, Russia Agree On 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

Prime Minister Modi had a telephonic conversation with President Putin today, which he described as “excellent”. He thanked Putin for the help rendered during the fight against the pandemic and tweeted “To add further momentum to our strong strategic partnership, President Putin and I have agreed to establish a 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between our foreign and defence ministers.”

It matches similar arrangements India has with the U.S. and Japan. Modi’s announcement follows Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Delhi earlier this month to prepare the ground for Putin’s visit sometime this year. The visit is part of the annual bilateral exchange between the two countries. It could be that the first India-Russia 2+2 could take place before the Putin-Modi summit.