Hummingbird News Desk
NEW DELHI, 8 SEP: National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on Wednesday met the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation General Nikolai Patrushev for high-level India-Russia inter-governmental consultations on the situation in Afghanistan.
Patrushev arrived here on Tuesday on a two-day visit as a follow-up to the telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on 24 August.
The discussions come hours after the Taliban announced their new interim government in the war-torn nation, revealing an all-male cabinet that includes several individuals sanctioned by the United States and the United Nations, along with an FBI ‘most wanted’ terrorist as a top minister. In light of these developments, Patrushev’s visit to India and the subsequent meetings with NSA Ajit Doval assumes special significance for both New Delhi and Moscow in connection with the response to the Taliban takeover.
“A wide range of issues of the Russian-Indian bilateral cooperation was discussed. An exchange of views took place on a number of international and regional problems, including the situation in Afghanistan,” said a Russian read-out of the meeting.
There have been mounting concerns in India over the possibility of a rise in activities of various terror groups, including Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Later, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held ‘useful discussions’ with Patrushev on the situation in Afghanistan.
Patrushev met Mr. Jaishankar after holding wide-ranging talks with NSA Ajit Doval with a focus on possible security threats to the region from the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
Patrushev also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier today.
Secretary Patrushev briefed Prime Minister on his fruitful exchanges with NSA and EAM earlier in the day and expressed Russia’s strong commitment to further deepen its ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ with India.
Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for the visit of the Russian delegation led by Secretary Patrushev at a time when major changes are taking place in the region.
He asked Secretary Patrushev to convey his thanks to President Putin for his constant attention towards the India-Russia Partnership. He also said that he was looking forward to welcoming President Putin in India in the near future, for the bilateral summit.
Image Courtesy: India in Russia@twitter
Tags: #Russia #NewDelhi #India #Patrushev #Afghanistan
