S Jaishankar, right, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)A day before the US’s waiver on sanctions on Indian imports of Russian oil is set to expire, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the topic of “increased supply of Russian energy” came up in his conversations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday.Speaking at a press conference, Lavrov, who was on a two-day visit to New Delhi for the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting, said he had a conversation with Modi and negotiations with Jaishankar on the sidelines of the meeting.“We discussed the key areas of our privileged strategic partnership that were defined during the summits between President Putin and Prime Minister Modi…We agreed to strengthen transport cooperation and investment cooperation, including the development of the international transport corridor…We also discussed the steps that are being taken to improve the system of direct mutual settlements and we discussed the increased supply of Russian energy, fertilisers and cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear energy,” Lavrov said regarding his interactions with Prime Minister Modi and Jaishankar.Also Read | US Russian crude waiver expires: What it could mean for India’s oil imports from RussiaWhen asked about the increased supply of Russian energy to India, Lavrov said the data was out in the public domain. “It’s not a secret statistic…This information shows that oil supplies to India increased and it does not depend on us, it depends on our Indian counterparts that always received a positive answer towards their request for supplying more energy. This is how we continue moving,” he said.During the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ meeting, Lavrov said the focus was on preparation for the 18th BRICS summit to be held in India later this year. The situation in West Asia, including the Strait of Hormuz, Lebanon and Palestine, was discussed as well, he said.When asked about the conflict between two BRICS members, Iran and the UAE, Lavrov said BRICS was not the organisation for mediating, but some of its member states, like India, could. He noted Pakistan’s role in the talks between the US and Iran.He said the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz was not a problem created by Iran. “I would like to remind you that before February 28, before the start of this aggression, there was no problem with the Strait of Hormuz. Safe navigation was ensured 100%,” he said.Story continues below this adCiting the US and Israel’s attack on Iran and the US’s “kidnapping” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Lavrov said the US had declared that its goal was to put “an end to the period of history where Iran allegedly instilled fear and terror into its neighbouring countries”, and end drug trafficking in the case of Venezuela.“It turned out the US was not interested in drug trafficking, they were interested in oil. The same issue here. They are interested in the oil to be shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran did not create this problem,” he said.