EAM raises security of envoys with Britain

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday, July 13, met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Jakarta on the sidelines of a set of ASEAN-related ministerial dialogues. The meeting, among a large number of bilaterals, is significant, as was the one with his UK counterpart James Cleverley in which he brought up concerns pertaining to the security of Indian diplomats in the UK. Jaishankar also met his South Korean counterpart Park Jin to discuss critical minerals and cutting-edge technology. He raised the security of Indian diplomats with Cleverly days after NSA Ajit Doval asked his British counterpart Tim Barrow to take strong public action such as deportation against extremist elements threatening officers of the Indian High Commission in the UK.With Lavrov, Jaishankar discussed bilateral economic issues and matters related to the Ukraine conflict. India has become a major buyer of Russian oil, but there is no agreement with Russia on how to utilise the rupees that have accumulated due to western sanctions. India would want the rupees to be invested in its infrastructure sector or government bonds while Moscow wants the money to be repatriated before deciding what to do with it.