Bangladesh

Momen-Lavrov meeting in Delhi next week? Bangladesh-Russia Meet
Collected Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left), Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen

Momen-Lavrov meeting in Delhi next week?

Bangladesh Live News | @banglalivenews | 24 Feb 2023, 09:55 pm

Dhaka, February 24: Amid the ongoing diplomatic unease between Russia and Bangladesh, there is a bright possibility of a one-on-one meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen. The meeting is likely to be held on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting to be held in India's Delhi in the first week of March, according to the Bangla Tribune.

Multiple sources in India's Ministry of External Affairs confirmed to the outlet that Indian officials are also trying hard to ensure that the Russian-Bangladesh foreign minister-level meeting can take place in Delhi and are in regular touch with the two countries.

As the current chair of the G-20, an alliance of 20 of the world's richest countries, India is hosting a meeting of foreign ministers of the alliance countries in Delhi on March 1 and 2. Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen will also attend the summit as India has accorded the status of "special guests" to some countries, including Bangladesh, at the summit.

Not only this, the annual security dialogue called 'Raisina Dialogue', which is jointly organized by the Government of India with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a strategic think tank, will begin in Delhi before the foreign ministers' conference is over. Foreign Minister Momen and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam will be present at the three-day dialogue from March 2 to 4.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed in a tweet yesterday that its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Delhi on March 1-3 and he will also hold separate meetings with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar during the visit.

This means that both the foreign ministers of Bangladesh and Russia will be in the capital of a third country for at least the first three days of next month.

According to the Bangla Tribune, it is precisely this opportunity that Bangladesh has proposed a separate meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister – and India, as the host country, is also extending all kinds of cooperation in it. Although the date of the proposed meeting has not yet been finalized, Russia's attitude to the proposal is also said to be positive initially.

Relations between Moscow and Dhaka have soured a bit after Bangladesh decided not to allow at least 54 Russian vessels to dock at its ports under US sanctions. Russian news agency TASS has already reported that Russia has summoned the Bangladeshi ambassador to Moscow and sought an explanation on the matter.

Last month, a Russian vessel under the name of Ursa Major could not enter The Mongla Port of Bangladesh. The ship's name was changed and the color was changed to send equipment to the Rooppur nuclear plant built with Russian technology. But after learning that the ship was under the ban, Bangladesh did not allow it to enter its coast.

Bangladesh's diplomatic, commercial and technical relations with Russia have historically been very deep, but this incident is adversely affecting it. In such a situation, observers believe that if there is an open or informal discussion between the foreign ministers of the two countries, it will help to open the deadlock in the situation.

Incidentally, the manner in which India has been pursuing a policy of covert support to Russia in the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been going on for the last one year, has also brought Delhi and Moscow closer recently. Against this backdrop, if India requests Russia to talk to Bangladesh separately in Delhi, it will not be easy for them to refuse.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also scheduled to arrive in Delhi next week to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. However, there is no news yet that Bangladesh has taken any initiative to hold a separate meeting with him on the sidelines.