Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen on Tuesday said Dhaka would request Russia during Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's upcoming Bangladesh visit to find a peaceful solution to the Ukraine crisis.
Lavrov will arrive in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon on a short visit before joining the 2023 G20 summit in New Delhi the following day.
The foreign secretary emphasized Dhaka’s “long-standing relationship” with Moscow, adding: "We will discuss the complex situations that have arisen across the world in recent times, especially since the Ukraine crisis. We can request Russia to find a peaceful solution as soon as possible.”
Momen said issues like food, fertilizers and fuel would come up in the talk with Russia’s top diplomat. "We will highlight the problems that we have.”
The foreign secretary said Lavrov would have a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen.
He will also call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
This is going to be the first visit of a Russian foreign minister to Bangladesh.
The Russian minister was scheduled to visit Bangladesh on November 23 to attend the 22nd Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council of Ministers meeting held on November 24. Russia is a dialogue partner of the IORA, and Bangladesh is the current chair of the group.
Ahead of that trip, Lavrov rang up his Bangladeshi counterpart and expressed his regret about not being able to come to Dhaka due to “schedule complications.”
However, he expressed his intention to make a visit soon.
His current visit comes at a time when the United States is putting pressure on Dhaka as part of its global efforts to isolate Russia over the Ukraine war.
Washington prevented Dhaka from paying back a part of a loan taken out from Moscow for the construction of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
The government later decided to pay it via Beijing in yuans and again received Washington’s objection.
The US recently declared a visa policy against those who would stand in the way of holding the upcoming general election in Bangladesh in a free and fair manner. Russia described it as “another attempt at blatant interference in internal affairs of a sovereign state.”
During the 1971 Liberation War, Russia, then called the Soviet Union, helped Bangladesh along with India.
Prime Minister Hasina’s visit to Moscow in 2013 was the first by a head of government after 1972 when Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman visited Russia.
After that bilateral relations gained momentum; both sides now have agreements for cooperation in defence, trade and energy.
The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is regarded as the "signature" initiative between the two countries.
Russia's state-owned atomic company Rosatom is helping in the construction. This is a $12.65 billion project, 90% of which is financed through a Russian loan repayable within 28 years, with a 10-year grace period.
Lavrov is representing President Vladimir Putin at different summits, including G20, due to an arrest warrant out for the latter, issued by the International Criminal Court, for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Nineteen countries - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK and the US - and the European Union are members of the G20, founded in 1999.
India is the current president. Bangladesh is also joining the meetings as an invited guest, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina set to attend the summit.