Overview

• At the UN General Assembly, Sergey Lavrov said India chooses its own partners and defended New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil despite new U.S. tariffs and sanction threats.
• Lavrov stated the India–Russia economic partnership is not under threat and stressed respect for India’s sovereign policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• He said a visit by President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi is being planned for December, indicating details are still being coordinated.
• The foreign minister reiterated the ties span trade, defence, finance, healthcare and high‑tech and publicly endorsed India for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
• Separately, Putin praised Modi’s leadership and India’s strong growth and credited Modi with personally strengthening bilateral ties in a recent message.