India-Russia must innovate to strengthen ties, says EAM S Jaishankar

India and Russia should come out with a creative and innovative approach to confront complex geopolitical challenges, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday amid increasing strains in New Delhi's ties with Washington over its purchase of Russian crude oil.

Jaishankar made the remarks at a meeting with Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov in Moscow.

In his televised opening remarks, the external affairs minister said India and Russia should continuously diversify and expand their "agenda" of cooperation including by diversifying the bilateral trade basket and through more joint ventures.

"Doing more and doing differently should be our mantras," he said.

The comments came against the backdrop of a downturn in relations between India and the US after President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent including a 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil.

The external affairs minister arrived in Moscow on Tuesday on a three-day visit.

The Jaishankar-Manturov talks were held under the framework of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological, and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC).

The meeting was aimed at preparing grounds for Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India later this year.

Elaborating on the importance of India-Russia ties in the context of current geopolitical upheaval, Jaishankar made specific suggestions to further consolidate the engagement, especially in the economic sphere.

"The various working groups and sub groups could perhaps take a more creative and innovative approach towards their respective agendas. The challenges posed by the larger landscape that I mentioned require us to do so," he said.

The external affairs minister said both sides should continuously diversify and expand their agenda through mutual consultation.

"This will help us tap into full potential of our trade and investment ties. We should not get stuck on a beaten track," he said Jaishankar also called for setting "quantifiable targets and specific timelines" to achieve more in expanding the ties between the two countries.

"I would urge that we set ourselves some quantifiable targets and specific timelines so that we challenge ourselves to achieve more, perhaps even surpass what we set out to do," he said.

"Each working Group and each sub Group could apply itself to setting of targets and see what we could achieve by the next session of the IRIGC-TEC," he said.

"For example, if you are looking at trade barriers, could we pick a certain number and make a commitment? If we have agreed to a certain proposal, can we set a firm timeline for that?" he said.

Jaishankar also pitched for a "coordination mechanism" between the business forum and the different working groups of the IRIGC to ensure a two-way flow of ideas.

"We will like the IRIGC to become even more result-oriented, relevant and readily available to the business communities of the two sides," he said.