EAM to Lavrov: Send back our youth working with your army

NEW DELHI: Foreign minister S Jaishankar pressed for the early return of Indian nationals employed as helpers with the Russian Army in the Russia-Ukraine war zone, in a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The ministers met in Astana on the margins of the SCO summit that kicked off Wednesday.
With PM Narendra Modi not participating, Jaishankar is representing India at the summit that is being attended by, among other leaders of the Eurasian bloc’s member-states, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.He is also expected to meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday, although neither side officially confirmed the meeting. The Jaishankar-Lavrov meeting also took place days before Modi’s visit to Russia next week, his first in 5 years, for the annual India-Russia summit.
Jaishankar and Lavrov also discussed the ongoing preparations for the summit next week which will see the leaders reaffirming commitment to their partnership on a range of issues, including military, energy and civil nuclear cooperation.