Dushanbe/New Delhi, Sep 17 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and had a useful discussion on contemporary issues, including Afghanistan, on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in the Tajikistan capital.

“Always good to meet Russian FM Sergey Lavrov.

“A useful discussion on contemporary issues, including Afghanistan, before the commencement of the SCO Summit,” he tweeted.

The meeting comes days after Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, was in India on September 8 to hold talks with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and also EAM Jaishankar on the developments in Afghanistan.

The talks were held a day after the Taliban named its caretaker government in Kabul.

Both sides had expressed deep concern over the developments in Afghanistan, especially over the presence of international terrorist groups there and the threat from terrorism spreading to Central Asia and India.

The talks were held as a follow-up to the telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 24.
UNI/RN