MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has pledged that agreements on energy supplies to India will be fulfilled despite unfair external competition, as he underlined that the relations between the two countries are based on friendship and there is no scenario in which their paths would diverge.
In an interview with Russia Today-India ahead of his visit to New Delhi this week, Lavrov also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he is one of the most energetic leaders the world has ever seen.
"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 pointed out that Russia has never failed to fulfil its obligations to India or anyone else when it comes to energy supplies.
"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."
The Kudankulam nuclear power plant is being built in Tamil Nadu with the technical assistance of Russia. The construction began in March 2002. Since February 2016, the first power unit of the Kudankulam NPP has been steadily operating at its design capacity of 1,000 MW.
The plant is expected to start operating at full capacity in 2027, according to Russian state media.
Lavrov said Prime Minister Modi is "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."
Lavrov said the relations between India and Russia are based on friendship and there is no scenario in which their paths would diverge.
"There isn’t just one word for these relations. Not because human languages aren’t rich enough, but because it is hard to imagine a relationship so full and deep,” he said while replying to a question.
"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 noted.
Stating that 'Hindi-Rusi bhai bhai’ (Indians and Russians are brothers), Lavrov said that's not just a fun slogan to chant, it has become part of our culture.
"Indian cinema, Raj Kapoor, more recent television series and films — they are immensely popular in Russia, everywhere, in every corner. The economy, joint energy production, military cooperation, nuclear and other forms of energy, cultural and humanitarian ties, and a high-level political dialogue marked by unprecedented trust — all of it is rock solid,” he said.
"So anyone worried about the future of Russia-India friendship can rest assured. We must always be aware of the threats that some are posing to our relations, trying to undermine them, creating closed structures, and making attempts to impose their own rules on how to deal with Russia. We see all of that, and so do our Indian friends. That makes it all the more valuable that those attempts keep failing,” Lavrov added.
During his visit to India, Lavrov will hold talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and attend the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting. The two ministers will exchange views on current international and regional issues, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"Special attention is expected to be paid to the situation in the Middle East. The Ministers are also expected to compare notes on cooperation within the UN, BRICS and the G20," it added.
It said that the two ministers will discuss a wide range of priority areas of bilateral cooperation.
"These include expanding trade, intensifying efforts to build sustainable transport, logistics, and financial channels protected from unlawful external pressure, deepening energy cooperation, and increasing collaboration in science and space technology,” the ministry said.