The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Jaishankar will undertake an official visit to Russia on August 23-24 to co-chair the 27th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation. (File)Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in September for the BRICS leaders’ summit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be on a two-day visit to Moscow beginning Sunday to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that Jaishankar will undertake an official visit to Russia on August 23-24 to co-chair the 27th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC). This meeting will take place with Denis Manturov.Jaishankar will also meet Lavrov — the second meeting in a month — and exchange perspectives on regional and global issues, according to an official statement by MEA.On July 22, a day after India summoned the Russian Charge d’Affaires (CDA) and conveyed “unequivocal condemnation” and “grave concern” over the deaths of four Indian seafarers in a Russian missile strike on a merchant vessel off the coast of Ukraine on July 19, Jaishankar had met Lavrov and had reiterated Delhi’s “strong concern regarding the safety of Indian seafarers in the region”.Jaishankar, who had met Lavrov in Manila on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Foreign ministers meeting, had said that “an in-depth” review of bilateral relations was undertaken where they “discussed various aspects of our partnership, including trade and investment, energy and connectivity, science and technology, and mobility. Also exchanged views on the Ukraine conflict and the Gulf situation”.India had summoned the Russian Charge d’Affaires (CDA) Vladimir Ladanov and had conveyed that “such attacks undermine the safety, security and stability of international maritime commerce”.“The Russian Chargé d’Affaires was requested to convey India’s strong concerns to his authorities that the targeting of commercial shipping and the resulting loss of innocent civilian lives are unacceptable and must be avoided,” it said.Story continues below this adWhile India was quick to condemn the attack on July 20, it did not name Russia. The naming, and summoning, of a Russian diplomat on July 21 was significant, considering Delhi is perceived to be closer to Moscow and has done the diplomatic tightrope walk over the last four years of the Russia-Ukraine war.Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 27 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting and writing explainers and analysis on foreign affairs for about 19 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He won the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award, 2023, for the second time for his reporting of the Oct 7 attacks on Israel and the war in Gaza. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More Tags:India-RussiaS. Jaishankar