17.11.21

India, Russia 2+2 Talks

The first meeting of India-Russia 2+2 ministerial format (foreign minister+defence minister), expected to be held in Delhi either coinciding or ahead of the Modi-Putin annual summit, will explore global partnership in various theatres, including Central Asia and the Indian Ocean Region.

The India-Russia 2+2 dialogue, conceived during a phone call between PM Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin in April, will provide an additional platform of dialogue besides the existing mechanisms, according to persons familiar with the issue. It is learnt the dialogue will explore partnership in Central Asia as well as in maritime domain including in the Indian Ocean Region.

“There are a lot of new trends affecting strategic stability at the regional and global levels. It is always important for friends like India and Russia to have an additional level of consultations, an additional platform of consultations. For example, India and Russia can have more focused cooperation in Central Asia, in the Indian Ocean region.

A number of developments, including relating to Afghanistan, have created new challenges. And I think the 2+2 dialogue will be a very important addition to the architecture of dialogue that you have rightly pointed out already exist,” DB Venkatesh Varma, before completing his term as envoy to Moscow, told the Russian state-owned TASS agency, last month.

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