US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar over the phone to discuss regional and global objectives, particularly the current developments in Ukraine.
The phone conversation between Jaishankar and Blinken took place just days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in India for a two-day visit, during which he stated that Moscow has begun to conduct trade in national currencies with India and other partners in order to avoid the “impediments” of Western sanctions.
Blinken and Jaishankar also agreed to be in regular contact as things progressed. It was the second telephonic chat between Jaishankar and Blinken in a week, and it occurred amid growing concern in the West over India’s announcement to buy higher volumes of discounted Russian crude oil.
