NEW DELHI: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged India and Pakistan to settle their differences through political and diplomatic means on a bilateral basis, in line with the provisions of the 1972 Simla Agreement and the 1999 Lahore Declaration. The comments were made during a telephone conversation with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, according to an official readout from the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“Sergey Lavrov called for the settlement of disagreements between New Delhi and Islamabad by political and diplomatic means on a bilateral basis in accordance with the provisions of the Simla Agreement of 1972 and the Lahore Declaration of 1999,” the readout said.
The two ministers discussed key issues concerning Russian-Indian cooperation, as well as the recent escalation in India-Pakistan tensions following the terrorist attack near Pahalgam during the call on May 2, the Russian readout said.
Pakistan had earlier announced a suspension of the 1972 Simla Agreement in a tit-for-tat move after India announced a slew of punitive actions in response to to the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
During their conversation, Lavrov and Jaishankar also reviewed the schedule of upcoming high-level and top-level bilateral engagements.
Following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has spoken with foreign ministers from four of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. These include French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on April 24, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy on April 27, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on April 30, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on May 2.