External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Manturov in New Delhi on Thursday, April 2, 2026. Photo credit: ANI
Amid the oil shock and supply chain disruption caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran, Russia has assured that its energy companies have the capacity to “continually increase” oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to India, as well as “continue” to address India’s fertilizer needs.
Also read | Russia has provided Iran with information that can help Iran attack the US military
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on a two-day visit called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 2, 2026) and discussed fertilizer supplies. He met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and the leaders discussed resumption of energy supplies to India.
The high-level Russian visit is seen as part of preparations by both sides ahead of the upcoming BRICS summit to be hosted by India and the annual India-Russia summit scheduled for this year in Russia.
“We discussed our mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, fertilisers, connectivity and people-to-people relations,” said Mr Modi, who “welcomed the sustained efforts of both sides” to implement the agreements of the 23rd annual India-Russia summit held here in December 2025.
In a press release, the Ministry of External Affairs said that Mr Jaishankar and Mr Manturov “exchanged views on regional and global developments including the conflict in West Asia”.
According to the Russian embassy, Mr. Manturov said Russia had increased supplies of “demanded mineral fertilizers to India by 40 percent and is ready to continue meeting India’s needs for this product.” He also mentioned that a joint project to produce carbamide (urea) is “under development”.
“Special attention was paid to cooperation in the oil and gas sector. Denis Manturov confirmed that Russian companies have the capacity to continuously increase the supply of oil and liquefied natural gas to the Indian market,” the embassy said.
Mr Manturov said Russia would deepen nuclear cooperation with India. Other topics such as industrial cooperation, space and educational projects were discussed at the meetings.
Mr Manturov’s visit to Delhi, which ended on Friday (April 3, 2026), came days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Mr Jaishankar addressed a conference on bilateral relations via video link on March 23, 2026, during which Mr Lavrov indicated Russia’s preparations for the annual summit.
Mr. Lavrov expressed Russia’s support for BRICS, where India is the current chairman. The group has attracted attention in recent weeks for not making any statement on the evolving situation in West Asia, although Russia, India and China, which make up a trilateral subgroup called the RIC, have said they will work closely within BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the United Nations on issues affecting common interests in the Global South.
This was followed by State Department consultations between India and Russia on March 30, led by Foreign Minister Vikram Misri and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko. This week, the Indian side hosted Vladimir Yakushev, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council (upper house) of the Federal Assembly of Russia. On Thursday, Mr. Yakushev met Rajya Sabha Deputy Speaker Harivansh Narayan Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. He also met Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Nabin.
The flurry of talks between India and Russia coincided with growing energy insecurity in India and the rest of South Asia as the war in West Asia continued into its second month. The US imposed punitive tariffs on India in August 2025, forcing India to limit Russian energy imports in order to force Russia to make concessions in the war in Ukraine. However, amid the crisis in the global energy market, the US issued a “temporary 30-day waiver” on March 6 to allow Indian refiners to buy Russian crude.
Published – 03 Apr 2026 18:06 IST
