Russia fully respects India’s national interests and the independent foreign policy being pursued by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, asserting that India’s ties with the United States or any other country cannot be a benchmark for New Delhi-Moscow ties.
Mr. Lavrov, who addressed the UN General Assembly (UNGA) shortly before External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s speech at the high-level General Debate, said India and Russia share a “particularly privileged strategic partnership”.
“These situations that might arise between India and the United States or India and any other country, I can’t consider them a criteria for relations between India and Russia,” he said at a press conference on Saturday (September 27, 2025).
Mr. Lavrov was responding to a question on India’s continued imports of Russian oil despite U.S. pressure on countries to reduce such purchases, and how Moscow views its ties with New Delhi in this context.
“We have full respect for the national interests of India, full respect for the foreign policy that (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi is carrying out to promote these national interests,” he said, noting that India and Russia maintain regular high-level contacts.
Mr. Lavrov cited the recent meeting between PM Modi and President Vladimir Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in China. He added that President Putin is expected to visit New Delhi in December.
“We have a very extensive bilateral agenda — trade, military, technical cooperation, finance, humanitarian matters, healthcare, high tech, artificial intelligence — and of course, close coordination at the international level, within the SCO, BRICS and bilaterally,” the Russian leader said.
Mr. Lavrov had met with Mr. Jaishankar for bilateral discussions on the margins of the 80th session of the UNGA and had also participated in the annual meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs/International Relations, chaired by India in its capacity as the incoming Chair for 2026.
Mr. Lavrov spoke about bilateral visits and regular exchanges between him and Mr. Jaishankar.
“I’m not even asking what is going to happen to our trade relations or oil? I don’t ask our Indian colleagues this. They are perfectly capable of making these decisions for themselves,” he said.
Referring to Mr. Jaishankar’s remarks on oil imports, Mr. Lavrov said the External Affairs Minister had clearly stated that if the “U.S. wants to sell its oil to us, we are prepared to discuss the terms for this, but what we buy from other countries, not the United States, but from Russia or other countries, that’s our own business, and that has nothing to do with the Indian-U.S. agenda”.
“That is a very worthy response,” he said, adding that it shows that India, like Turkiye, has “self-respect”.
In response to another question, Mr. Lavrov stressed that the economic partnership between Russia and India is secure.
“There is no threat to this relationship. And if somebody does do something of that nature, the Indian Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, have said it loud and clear, India chooses its own partners,” he said.
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“If the US has proposals on how to enrich bilateral trade between the U.S. and India, they are prepared to discuss the terms for that, whatever terms the U.S. might put forth.
“But when it comes to trade, investment, economic, military, technological and other relations between India and third states, it is something that India will discuss only with those states in question,” Mr. Lavrov said.
The Trump administration has imposed 50% tariffs on India, including 25% for its purchases of Russian oil, with New Delhi facing among the highest levies imposed by Washington.
The Trump administration has imposed an additional 25% tariff on India as a penalty for its purchases of Russian oil, taking the total levies imposed on the country by the US to 50%, among the highest in the world.
India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.
Earlier, Mr. Jaishankar had posted on X about his meeting with Mr. Lavrov: “Good conversation with FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia on the sidelines of #UNGA80. Useful discussion on bilateral ties, the Ukraine conflict and developments in the Middle East.”
Published – September 28, 2025 11:19 am IST
