Tianjin [China], July 15 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)'s Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Tuesday.

In a post on X, Russia's Foreign Ministry shared, 'Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Minister of External Affairs of India @DrSJaishankar hold a meeting on the sidelines of the #SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting.'

https://x.com/mfa_russia/status/1945048807881765258

The high-level interaction comes on the heels of the meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers' Meeting in China's Qingdao in late June this year. The leader had discussed the supply of S-400 systems, Su-30 MKI upgrades, and procurement of critical military hardware in expeditious timeframes, as noted by an official statement from the Ministry of Defence.

https://x.com/rajnathsingh/status/1938101376007213449

Earlier in May, an-all party delegation led by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, had visited Russia as a part of India's global outreach programme of Operation Sindoor. She had reiterated India's zero-tolerance policy against terrorism.

During the SCO Foreign Ministers' Meeting, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Ministers' meeting in Tianjin, China.

Jaishankar shared the update on X, he wrote, 'Good to catch up with FM @araghchi of Iran, this time on the sidelines of the SCO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tianjin.'

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1945058388444111161

Jaishankar is on an official visit to China to attend the SCO Foreign Ministers' Meeting. He arrived in Beijing after concluding his trip to Singapore. This is also his first visit to China since the Galwan Valley clash in 2020, which severely strained ties between the two countries.

Earlier in the day, Jaishankar, along with other SCO foreign ministers, met Chinese President Xi Jinping.

His visit comes shortly after recent visits to China by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, both of whom attended SCO-related engagements in June.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is also expected to visit India next month to meet NSA Ajit Doval. The meeting will be part of the Special Representatives (SR) dialogue mechanism, aimed at resolving the long-standing boundary dispute between the two countries. (ANI)