New Delhi, March 30 (IANS) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko here on Monday, discussing bilateral cooperation and regional and global developments.

“Good to meet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko of Russia. Spoke about further advancement of our wide-ranging cooperation. As well as regional and global developments”, EAM Jaishankar wrote in a post on X following the meeting.

Earlier in the day, India and Russia held Foreign Office Consultations, where they reviewed their Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership and discussed bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Rudenko co-chaired the Foreign Office Consultations.

In a post on X, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “India-Russia Foreign Office Consultations, co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, were held in New Delhi today.”

“Both sides reviewed the full spectrum of Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership and shared perspectives on bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest,” he added.

On March 17, India and Russia held the 7th UN Consultations in New Delhi, with discussions focused on issues related to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) agenda, particularly counter-terrorism, peacekeeping, UNSC reforms and others.

“Both sides exchanged their priorities in the United Nations. The discussions focused on issues related to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) agenda, in particular counterterrorism, peacekeeping, UNSC reforms, among others,” Jaiswal posted on X.

On March 11, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar held a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and discussed the West Asia conflict and expanding bilateral ties.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was on a two-day State visit to India in December, during which he held formal talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with both leaders reviewing the state of the India-Russia partnership as it completes 25 years since being designated a Strategic Partnership.

The discussions were followed by the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, during which the two sides released a Joint Statement outlining priorities for the coming years. President Droupadi Murmu also hosted a banquet in honour of President Putin at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

–IANS

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