Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Russia will fulfil all agreements on energy supplies to India despite “unfair and dishonest competition”, while asserting that ties between the two countries remain “rock solid”.
In an interview ahead of his visit to New Delhi this week, Lavrov said India’s interests regarding Russian energy supplies would not be affected by external pressures.
“I can guarantee that India's interests as they apply to Russian supplies will not suffer. We will do everything to ensure that this unfair and dishonest competition does not damage our agreements,” he said.
Lavrov said Russia had never failed to meet its obligations to India or other countries in the field of energy supplies.
Referring to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, he described it as Russia’s “flagship project” in India.
“The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is our flagship project. It meets a significant share of India's needs,” he said.
“Cooperation on the construction of new power units for this nuclear plant is continuing. Even so, India needs more. We continue supplying hydrocarbons such as gas, oil, and coal,” Lavrov added.
The Kudankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu is being developed with Russian technical assistance. Construction began in 2002, while the first power unit started operating at its design capacity of 1,000 MW in 2016. According to Russian state media, the plant is expected to become fully operational by 2027.
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Lavrov also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him “one of the most energetic leaders the world has ever known”.
“He possesses great energy and channels it towards extremely important goals such as achieving maximum sovereignty across all spheres: the economy, the military, defence, culture, and the preservation of India's civilisational wealth, which is unmatched by any other country,” he said.
The Russian minister asserted that relations between India and Russia were rooted in friendship and mutual trust.
“A situation where our paths diverge simply does not exist, it is unthinkable. We began our conversation with the very foundation of Russian-Indian relations: friendship,” Lavrov said.
Invoking the slogan “Hindi-Rusi bhai bhai”, he said cultural, economic and strategic ties between the two nations remained strong.
“Indian cinema, Raj Kapoor, more recent television series and films, they are immensely popular in Russia, everywhere, in every corner,” he said.
Lavrov is scheduled to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his visit and attend the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, discussions are expected to focus on bilateral trade, transport and financial connectivity, energy cooperation, science and space technology, as well as regional and global developments, including the situation in West Asia.
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