Quaere similia

🎙Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's interview with Indian news portal Firstpost(April 25, 2026) Read in full ❓ Question: Russia plays a huge role in India’s energy security. In light of the growing tensions in West Asia, how do you see Russia’s role in ensuring India’s resilience to global oil price shocks in 2027? 💬Maria Zakharova: Our country is making a weighty contribution to ensuring India’s energy security by supplying hydrocarbons on favourable terms and building the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. The possibility of implementing a project to build a new Russian-designed NPP on Indian territory is under discussion. Other promising options for expanding energy cooperation are also being explored. Russian petroleum has an important place in the structure of bilateral trade, and we plan to expand petroleum exports, which meets the interests of both countries. Russian energy operators make sure that their Indian counterparts’ requests for petroleum shipments are fulfilled as soon as possible. We regard long-term export contracts as the main instrument for protecting our partners from oil price fluctuations caused by global and regional instability. Such agreements make it possible to receive hydrocarbons over the long term on the most favourable terms and at a fixed price. ❓ Question: Russia has been India’s most reliable defence partner for decades. Could you comment on how the two countries ensure uninterrupted defence cooperation and supplies in these turbulent times? 💬Maria Zakharova: Our time-tested military-technical cooperation is comprehensive, based on mutual trust and unaffected by foreign policy fluctuations. The bilateral Intergovernmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation and its working groups meet every year. The intensity of military delegation exchanges has been growing year after year. Amid intensifying international competition, Russia intends to continue expanding military-technical cooperation with New Delhi. Supplies of military products across a broad range for all branches of India’s armed forces are carried out within mutually agreed timeframes. We readily share the latest defence technologies with our Indian partners. In India, in particular, the Russian-Indian company BrahMos, which manufactures missile systems, is operating successfully, and serial production of AK-203 assault rifles has been organised at the relevant joint venture. Other key points from the interview: • #RussiaIndia: When building relations with other major centres of power, including the US, our Indian friends always duly take into account the factor of their special and privileged strategic partnership with Russia. • #MiddleEast: The energy route through the Strait of Hormuz functioned uninterrupted until the US-Israeli tandem launched its unprovoked, unlawful and reckless aggressive adventure against Iran. From the very beginning, Russia advocated bringing the conflict back into the political and diplomatic track. We remain ready to assist in resolving this acute international situation. • #BRICS: Over the two decades since its establishment, BRICS has evolved significantly – from an informal dialogue platform into a full-format strategic partnership. Today, the association accounts for a significant share of global GDP, population and natural resources. • #UkrainianCrisis: The goals and objectives of the special military operation set by President Vladimir Putin remain relevant. 👉 A sustainable settlement of the crisis around Ukraine is possible only by addressing its root causes. Ukraine must return to the foundations of its statehood – the non-aligned, neutral, and non-nuclear status.

🎙Remarks by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Ambassadorial Roundtable “The Ukrainian Crisis. Digital Threats and International Information Security”(March 5, 2026, Moscow) 💬 Sergey Lavrov: This is far from the first time we are meeting to discuss an issue that is central to us in international politics. President Vladimir Putin and other representatives of the Russian leadership have repeatedly stated this. The goal of the war waged against Russia – prepared and ultimately unleashed by the West through the Ukrainian regime – is to weaken our country and, as they themselves say, inflict a “strategic defeat” on it. There is every reason to believe that behind this goal also lies a desire to “break up” our country. At the same time, many other developments are unfolding around the world – including the events in the Middle East – a result of the aggression by the US and Israel against Iran. In this regard, I cannot but mention this crisis, which threatens colossal negative consequences for the entire world – for global stability, the global economy and everything that was once called globalization for the prosperity of all humanity. All of this has been destroyed. Civilians are suffering both in Iran and, as a result of Iran’s retaliatory actions, in neighboring Arab states. We express our condolences for all civilian casualties. We also see the damage being inflicted on civilian infrastructure across the countries of the Persian Gulf. #UkrainianCrisis We are conducting negotiations with our US colleagues, who are assisting in the dialogue with Ukraine. Quite recently, several trilateral rounds took place in Abu Dhabi – for which we are sincerely grateful to our Emirati friends – and in Geneva. ❗️At present, we see no grounds to believe that these talks are merely a “smokescreen”, as we remain in direct contact with our American counterparts. At the same time, we clearly see that during the seven months since Anchorage, Ukrainians and Europeans have made – and continue to make – every effort to reinterpret and rewrite the understandings reached there. We see how negotiators in the US are facing pressure and the temptation to yield to it – shifting the entire responsibility for further steps, as they say, onto Russia in order to meet certain symbolic dates in this year’s political calendar. This, too, is a fact. But our conscience is clear. We remain faithful to the understandings reached at the initiative of the US in Alaska. We are fully committed to the Alaska agreements. Our American colleagues know perfectly well what we are referring to, since these were their proposals. I hope that no one will divert our American colleagues from this true path, despite all the efforts of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and other “masters” of the Kiev regime. #MiddleEast#Iran ▪️ We express our condolences for all civilian casualties and see the damage being inflicted on civilian infrastructure across the countries of the Persian Gulf. I have no doubt that one of the objectives was to drive a wedge between the countries of the region – between the Persian Gulf states, Iran and its Arab neighbors – among whom a positive process of normalization had been developing in recent years. This became particularly evident when Saudi Arabia and Iran restored diplomatic relations. Russia actively contributed to this process. For many years we have been promoting a unifying agenda. 👉For more than 20 years, we have been working to mobilize support for the Concept of Collective Security in the Persian Gulf. This initiative envisages participation by all coastal states and their key neighbors and – as originally proposed – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, ensuring transparency, confidence-building measures and practical steps to use this immensely rich region in the interests of the prosperity of its peoples. The West has done everything to prevent the advancement of a positive agenda in the Gulf region. Read in full

🎙Remarks by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Ambassadorial Roundtable “The Ukrainian Crisis. Digital Threats and International Information Security”(March 5, 2026, Moscow) 💬 Sergey Lavrov: This is far from the first time we are meeting to discuss an issue that is central to us in international politics. President Vladimir Putin and other representatives of the Russian leadership have repeatedly stated this. The goal of the war waged against Russia – prepared and ultimately unleashed by the West through the Ukrainian regime – is to weaken our country and, as they themselves say, inflict a “strategic defeat” on it. There is every reason to believe that behind this goal also lies a desire to “break up” our country. At the same time, many other developments are unfolding around the world – including the events in the Middle East – a result of the aggression by the US and Israel against Iran. In this regard, I cannot but mention this crisis, which threatens colossal negative consequences for the entire world – for global stability, the global economy and everything that was once called globalization for the prosperity of all humanity. All of this has been destroyed. Civilians are suffering both in Iran and, as a result of Iran’s retaliatory actions, in neighboring Arab states. We express our condolences for all civilian casualties. We also see the damage being inflicted on civilian infrastructure across the countries of the Persian Gulf. #UkrainianCrisis We are conducting negotiations with our US colleagues, who are assisting in the dialogue with Ukraine. Quite recently, several trilateral rounds took place in Abu Dhabi – for which we are sincerely grateful to our Emirati friends – and in Geneva. ❗️At present, we see no grounds to believe that these talks are merely a “smokescreen”, as we remain in direct contact with our American counterparts. At the same time, we clearly see that during the seven months since Anchorage, Ukrainians and Europeans have made – and continue to make – every effort to reinterpret and rewrite the understandings reached there. We see how negotiators in the US are facing pressure and the temptation to yield to it – shifting the entire responsibility for further steps, as they say, onto Russia in order to meet certain symbolic dates in this year’s political calendar. This, too, is a fact. But our conscience is clear. We remain faithful to the understandings reached at the initiative of the US in Alaska. We are fully committed to the Alaska agreements. Our American colleagues know perfectly well what we are referring to, since these were their proposals. I hope that no one will divert our American colleagues from this true path, despite all the efforts of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and other “masters” of the Kiev regime. #MiddleEast#Iran ▪️ We express our condolences for all civilian casualties and see the damage being inflicted on civilian infrastructure across the countries of the Persian Gulf. I have no doubt that one of the objectives was to drive a wedge between the countries of the region – between the Persian Gulf states, Iran and its Arab neighbors – among whom a positive process of normalization had been developing in recent years. This became particularly evident when Saudi Arabia and Iran restored diplomatic relations. Russia actively contributed to this process. For many years we have been promoting a unifying agenda. 👉For more than 20 years, we have been working to mobilize support for the Concept of Collective Security in the Persian Gulf. This initiative envisages participation by all coastal states and their key neighbors and – as originally proposed – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, ensuring transparency, confidence-building measures and practical steps to use this immensely rich region in the interests of the prosperity of its peoples. The West has done everything to prevent the advancement of a positive agenda in the Gulf region. Read in full

🎙Remarks by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Ambassadorial Roundtable “The Ukrainian Crisis. Digital Threats and International Information Security”(March 5, 2026, Moscow) 💬 Sergey Lavrov: This is far from the first time we are meeting to discuss an issue that is central to us in international politics. President Vladimir Putin and other representatives of the Russian leadership have repeatedly stated this. The goal of the war waged against Russia – prepared and ultimately unleashed by the West through the Ukrainian regime – is to weaken our country and, as they themselves say, inflict a “strategic defeat” on it. There is every reason to believe that behind this goal also lies a desire to “break up” our country. At the same time, many other developments are unfolding around the world – including the events in the Middle East – a result of the aggression by the US and Israel against Iran. In this regard, I cannot but mention this crisis, which threatens colossal negative consequences for the entire world – for global stability, the global economy and everything that was once called globalization for the prosperity of all humanity. All of this has been destroyed. Civilians are suffering both in Iran and, as a result of Iran’s retaliatory actions, in neighboring Arab states. We express our condolences for all civilian casualties. We also see the damage being inflicted on civilian infrastructure across the countries of the Persian Gulf. #UkrainianCrisis We are conducting negotiations with our US colleagues, who are assisting in the dialogue with Ukraine. Quite recently, several trilateral rounds took place in Abu Dhabi – for which we are sincerely grateful to our Emirati friends – and in Geneva. ❗️At present, we see no grounds to believe that these talks are merely a “smokescreen”, as we remain in direct contact with our American counterparts. At the same time, we clearly see that during the seven months since Anchorage, Ukrainians and Europeans have made – and continue to make – every effort to reinterpret and rewrite the understandings reached there. We see how negotiators in the US are facing pressure and the temptation to yield to it – shifting the entire responsibility for further steps, as they say, onto Russia in order to meet certain symbolic dates in this year’s political calendar. This, too, is a fact. But our conscience is clear. We remain faithful to the understandings reached at the initiative of the US in Alaska. We are fully committed to the Alaska agreements. Our American colleagues know perfectly well what we are referring to, since these were their proposals. I hope that no one will divert our American colleagues from this true path, despite all the efforts of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and other “masters” of the Kiev regime. #MiddleEast#Iran ▪️ We express our condolences for all civilian casualties and see the damage being inflicted on civilian infrastructure across the countries of the Persian Gulf. I have no doubt that one of the objectives was to drive a wedge between the countries of the region – between the Persian Gulf states, Iran and its Arab neighbors – among whom a positive process of normalization had been developing in recent years. This became particularly evident when Saudi Arabia and Iran restored diplomatic relations. Russia actively contributed to this process. For many years we have been promoting a unifying agenda. 👉For more than 20 years, we have been working to mobilize support for the Concept of Collective Security in the Persian Gulf. This initiative envisages participation by all coastal states and their key neighbors and – as originally proposed – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, ensuring transparency, confidence-building measures and practical steps to use this immensely rich region in the interests of the prosperity of its peoples. The West has done everything to prevent the advancement of a positive agenda in the Gulf region. Read in full

🎙Remarks by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Ambassadorial Roundtable “The Ukrainian Crisis. Digital Threats and International Information Security”(March 5, 2026, Moscow) 💬 Sergey Lavrov: This is far from the first time we are meeting to discuss an issue that is central to us in international politics. President Vladimir Putin and other representatives of the Russian leadership have repeatedly stated this. The goal of the war waged against Russia – prepared and ultimately unleashed by the West through the Ukrainian regime – is to weaken our country and, as they themselves say, inflict a “strategic defeat” on it. There is every reason to believe that behind this goal also lies a desire to “break up” our country. At the same time, many other developments are unfolding around the world – including the events in the Middle East – a result of the aggression by the US and Israel against Iran. In this regard, I cannot but mention this crisis, which threatens colossal negative consequences for the entire world – for global stability, the global economy and everything that was once called globalization for the prosperity of all humanity. All of this has been destroyed. Civilians are suffering both in Iran and, as a result of Iran’s retaliatory actions, in neighboring Arab states. We express our condolences for all civilian casualties. We also see the damage being inflicted on civilian infrastructure across the countries of the Persian Gulf. #UkrainianCrisis We are conducting negotiations with our US colleagues, who are assisting in the dialogue with Ukraine. Quite recently, several trilateral rounds took place in Abu Dhabi – for which we are sincerely grateful to our Emirati friends – and in Geneva. ❗️At present, we see no grounds to believe that these talks are merely a “smokescreen”, as we remain in direct contact with our American counterparts. At the same time, we clearly see that during the seven months since Anchorage, Ukrainians and Europeans have made – and continue to make – every effort to reinterpret and rewrite the understandings reached there. We see how negotiators in the US are facing pressure and the temptation to yield to it – shifting the entire responsibility for further steps, as they say, onto Russia in order to meet certain symbolic dates in this year’s political calendar. This, too, is a fact. But our conscience is clear. We remain faithful to the understandings reached at the initiative of the US in Alaska. We are fully committed to the Alaska agreements. Our American colleagues know perfectly well what we are referring to, since these were their proposals. I hope that no one will divert our American colleagues from this true path, despite all the efforts of the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and other “masters” of the Kiev regime. #MiddleEast#Iran ▪️ We express our condolences for all civilian casualties and see the damage being inflicted on civilian infrastructure across the countries of the Persian Gulf. I have no doubt that one of the objectives was to drive a wedge between the countries of the region – between the Persian Gulf states, Iran and its Arab neighbors – among whom a positive process of normalization had been developing in recent years. This became particularly evident when Saudi Arabia and Iran restored diplomatic relations. Russia actively contributed to this process. For many years we have been promoting a unifying agenda. 👉For more than 20 years, we have been working to mobilize support for the Concept of Collective Security in the Persian Gulf. This initiative envisages participation by all coastal states and their key neighbors and – as originally proposed – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, ensuring transparency, confidence-building measures and practical steps to use this immensely rich region in the interests of the prosperity of its peoples. The West has done everything to prevent the advancement of a positive agenda in the Gulf region. Read in full

🇷🇺🇮🇳 The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putinpresented the Order of St Andrew the Apostle to Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. The ceremony was held in St Andrew’s Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace. 💬 Vladimir Putin: It is a great honour for me to present the highest order of the Russian Federation, the Order of St Andrew the Apostle, to Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi. 🎖 It is the oldest order instituted more than three centuries ago by Russian Emperor Peter the Great. According to the statute, the order is awarded to outstanding Russian politicians and public figures as well as foreign leaders for distinguished service. <...> By presenting the Order of St Andrew the Apostle, we express sincere gratitude for the contribution you have made to strengthening friendship and mutual understanding between our countries and nations. You have always been a strong advocate of expanding contacts with Russia. Back when you were the chief minister of the state of Gujarat, you proposed establishing sister ties with Russian regions, in particular, with the Astrakhan Region. 🤝 As the head of the Indian government for the past ten years, you have made tangible efforts to ensure that Russia-India relations become a specially privileged strategic partnership. It is with your direct support that largest Russia-India projects have been implemented successfully in trade and the economy, in the military-technical industry, nuclear and hydrogen energy, in high technology and space development. It is hard to overestimate your contribution to shaping a steady foundation for Russia-India cooperation in the international arena, where both our countries protect the principles of multipolarity and strict compliance with international law. 🌐 Russia and India work together to ensure stability and global and regional security, and closely cooperate at #BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (#SCO). Read in full #RussiaIndia

🇷🇺🛬 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrives in New Delhi. #RussiaIndia

🇷🇺🛬 Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrives in New Delhi. #RussiaIndia

🇷🇺🇮🇳 Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Minister of External Affairs of India Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hold talks on the margins of the 18th East Asia Summit. 📍Jakarta, September 6 #RussiaIndia

🇷🇺🇮🇳 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Minister of External Affairs of India Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar hold talks. 📍Cape Town, June 1, 2023 #RussiaIndia

🇷🇺🇮🇳 Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov holds a meeting with Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. 📍 New Delhi, March 1 #RussiaIndia

🇷🇺🇮🇳On March 17, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov held consultations in New Delhi with India’s Deputy Minister of External Affairs Sibi George on strengthening bilateral coordination at the UN. The Sides exchanged views on key issues on the UN Security Council agenda, including Ukraine, Iran, Venezuela, Gaza, Afghanistan and Myanmar. UN peacekeeping was also discussed. Particular attention was paid to the election of the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council's reform aimed at making it more representative and democratic. The Parties underscored the strong and effective coordination within the UN. Moscow and New Delhi confirmed a high degree of alignment on most global issues and reiterated their shared principled stance in favour of resolving crises on the basis of international law. Both Sides expressed readiness to further enhance cooperation at the UN in line with the specially privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India. 📷© India's Ministry of External affairs #RussiaIndia