Moscow on Friday (May 23, 2025) reiterated its decisive commitment to an uncompromising joint fight with New Delhi against all forms of terrorism, as an Indian all-party parliamentary delegation held wide-ranging discussions on combating terrorism and briefed the Russian side on Operation Sindoor.
Russian Foreign Ministry statement, issued after Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko met with the visiting parliamentary delegation, expressed readiness to increase close cooperation on the issue at regional and global venues.
The delegation, led by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, is in Russia to sensitise the diplomatic leadership about terror emanating from Pakistan, a month after the Pahalgam attack that left 26 people dead.
“A decisive commitment to an uncompromising joint fight against all forms of terrorism was confirmed. Readiness was expressed to increase close cooperation on these issues at regional and global venues, primarily in the UN, BRICS and [Shanghai Cooperation Organisation],” the Russian Foreign Ministry statement said. Mr. Rudenko expressed hope for a speedy de-escalation of tensions in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad through peaceful diplomatic means.
The delegation was warmly welcomed by Mr. Rudenko at the Smolenskaya Square high-rise building, built during the Stalinist era for the Foreign Ministry. “The participants exchanged views on the prospects for increasing cooperation between legislative bodies and emphasised the importance of intensifying the work of the bilateral Inter-Parliamentary Commission,” the Foreign Ministry statement noted.
The Indian parliamentarians also had “a fruitful interaction” with Mikhail Fradkov, former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, who heads the Russian Institute of Strategic Studies (RISS), the Indian Embassy in Russia said in a post on X. “They discussed the current global situation, particularly, the threats posed by terrorism,” the post added.
The delegation had a detailed exchange of views at a round-table meeting with all-party members of the Russian Federation Assembly (Parliament), led by Leonid Slutsky, chairperson of the Duma (lower house) International Affairs Committee and member of the Liberal-Democratic Party.
The delegation also met with Andrey Denisov, First Deputy Chairperson of the Federation Council (upper house) Committee on Foreign Affairs, and other senators of the Russian Federation, according to the post from the Indian Embassy. Quoting the Russian side, the embassy post added: “The Russian side condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and stated that Russia stands in solidarity with India for elimination of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations! Russia and India have a shared position in the fight against terrorism. Russia, India, together in the fight against terrorism!”
Earlier, the delegation arrived in Moscow late on Thursday (May 22, 2025) night amid Ukrainian drone attacks. Later on Friday, the Indian team is scheduled to interact with top India and South Asia experts from local think-tanks. On Saturday (May 24, 2025), they are scheduled to address a press conference and interact with the local media before departing for Slovenia.
The Indian delegation is also scheduled to visit Greece, Latvia, and Spain as part of the Government of India’s diplomatic outreach post-Pahalgam, after which Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a “new normal” wherein New Delhi will consider any act of cross-border terrorism as an act of war against India.
The delegation that Ms. Kanimozhi is leading is one of seven multi-party delegations visiting 33 global capitals to reach out to the international community on Pakistan’s designs and India’s response to terror. The other members of the delegation are Rajiv Rai of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Mian Altaf Ahmad of the National Conference (NC), Capt. Brijesh Chowta of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Prem Chand Gupta of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Ashok Kumar Mittal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and Ambassadors Manjeev S. Puri and Jawed Ashraf.
Published – May 24, 2025 02:55 am IST
