Overview

• At a Eurasian security conference in Perm on May 29, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged the earliest resumption of RIC talks, citing an understanding reached by India and China to ease border tensions.
• Launched on Yevgeny Primakov’s initiative in the 1990s, RIC held over 20 ministerial and sectoral meetings before freezing after the June 2020 Galwan clash.
• Lavrov accused NATO of attempting to lure India into anti-China intrigues based on confidential discussions with Indian officials.
• He warned that Quad members have already pressed for naval and military exercises beyond trade cooperation, signalling a shift toward defence alignment.
• Reviving the troika serves Russia’s strategy to balance its partnerships with Delhi and Beijing and counter the growing influence of Western-led security arrangements in Asia.