Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday said India could play the role of a mediator between his country and Ukraine to end the ongoing conflict even as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called for an immediate cessation of violence and hostilities in Europe during their bilateral talks.

“India is an important country. If India sees to play that role (mediator) which provides resolution of the problem, it can support such a process,” he said while talking to reporters after talks with Jaishankar. He also appreciated that New Delhi was viewing the crisis in its entirety and not in a one-sided way.

Jaishankar, however, clearly told him that India was not in favour of military action and desired a resolution of the crisis through talks. ”Differences and disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and by respect for international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states,” the Indian minister said at the delegation-level talks between the two sides. Lavrov also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi before leaving for Moscow.

India has so far done a tight rope walk on the crisis in Europe. It has not criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and abstained from voting on United Nations’ platforms in condemning the Russian aggression. However, last Thursday, India also abstained on a resolution pushed by Russia on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, which was seen as reflective of its neutral position on the conflict.

On his part, the Russian minister briefed Jaishankar on Russia’s perspective of the war in Ukraine, including the ongoing talks in Istanbul. He sought to justify his country’s decision to launch ”special operations” in Ukraine. ”It’s not a war…it’s a special operation. Military infrastructure is being targeted. The aim is to deprive the Kyiv regime of building the capacity to pose any threat to Russia” he said.

Lauding India for its stand on the conflict, Lavrov said; ”I believe Indian foreign policies are characterised by independence and concentration on real national legitimate interests. The same policy is followed by Russia and this makes us good friends and loyal partners,” he added. In an obvious context of India-Russia ties, he said the western world wanted to reduce any meaningful relationship to the crisis in Ukraine.

Lavrov said his talks with the Indian side were characterised by relations that the two countries have developed over many decades. ”Our relations are based on our strategic partnership… this is the basis on which we have been promoting our cooperation in all areas,” he added.

The Russian minister said his country was ready to supply any goods to India that it wanted to buy from Russia. On the Rupee-Rouble payment arrangement, he said the two countries started more and more use of national currencies in bilateral transactions many years ago to bypass unilateral sanctions.

The two sides also discussed the implications of recent sanctions on Russia on bilateral trade and economic relations. Jaishankar told Lavrov that global volatility in different domains was of particular concern to India as a developing economy. He emphasised the importance of stable and predictable economic, technological and people to people contact between the two countries.