Moscow, Mar 27 (PTI) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday lauded India for adopting a balanced approach to the Ukraine crisis and advocating for resolving the issue through dialogue.

In a video address to a conference titled 'Russia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda' hosted by the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), Lavrov reiterated that Russia views strengthening its privileged strategic partnership with India as a foreign policy priority.

Lavrov also said that President Vladimir Putin has accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation to visit India and preparations are underway for it.

"I would like to extend our gratitude on behalf of Russia for the fact that India, including its Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been following a balanced approach to the Ukraine crisis at all times and called for settling it through dialogue and by addressing its root causes," Lavrov said.

He said that Russia fully shares this approach and has been expressing its readiness to hold talks from the moment this crisis started. "These talks must pave the way for settling the conflict and ensuring lasting peace by removing the conflict’s root causes," he added.

India has all along been pressing for the resolution of the Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

In a podcast with Lex Fridman released on March 16, Prime Minister Modi said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will only be resolved when both sides join the negotiation table, asserting that there can never be a resolution on the battlefield.

In his summit talks with President Putin on July 9 last year in Moscow, Modi told the Russian leader that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets.

Weeks later, Modi travelled to Ukraine, where he told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and India was ready to play an "active role" to restore peace in the region.

In his address, Lavrov said that the root causes of the conflict primarily include the attempts by the West to draw Ukraine into NATO and the security threats Russia has been facing following the alliance’s eastward expansion.

"There is a deep-rooted belief in Russia that addressing these root causes would create a solid foundation for achieving lasting peace and bringing about a political settlement to the security crisis which is unfolding in Eurasia’s European part," he said.

Lavrov said Russia views strengthening its privileged strategic partnership with India as a foreign policy priority as per its Foreign Policy Concept.

"We have spared no effort in pursuing this objective. In terms of our practical interactions, we can see that India has been acting along the same lines," he said.

"Our two countries share long-standing ties. We can even say that these relations have passed the test of time. Today, Russia and India are promoting their cooperation on an equal footing, based on a sincere and shared respect for one another and taking into account each other’s interests," he added.

The fact that Prime Minister Modi visited Russia as his first overseas visit after his re-election last year sent a powerful message, Lavrov said.

"Our relations rely on a solid economic foundation. We have been consistent in expanding our trade and economic ties while also effectively fending off attempts by certain ill-wishers to create impediments for us," he said.

"We will carry on with our efforts to achieve the objectives as set forth by our respective leaders during last year’s July summit. These objectives include increasing trade to $100 billion by 2030," he said.

He said the fact that Moscow and New Delhi share close or even converging views on the emergence of a multipolar world order is also a major asset.

"This order must have a diverse mix of development models at its core, while all countries must adhere to the principles as set forth in the UN Charter. They must comply with its provisions in full and considering their interconnected nature instead of using a selective approach," the top Russian diplomat said.

"Together with our Indian partners, we want to inject more democracy into international relations and to give the Global South a bigger say in economic governance while respecting the unique cultural and civilizational identities of all nations around the world," he said.

Russia praises the Indian diplomacy and welcomes its commitment to following an independent, multi-directional foreign policy, Lavrov said.

"It is our belief that India has every right to be viewed as a major power in today’s world and one of the most influential centres in the multipolar world order. We share India’s foreign policy concept with its slogan “The world is one family”," he said.

He added that it stands for promoting international cooperation for improving the well-being of the entire humankind by balancing the interests of all countries.

He also said that the two sides have been working together within the United Nations, the G-20, BRICS, the SCO and other multilateral platforms. PTI ZH ZH