External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Monday, 26 October 2026, met Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of Russia's State Duma, in New Delhi on the sidelines of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, with discussions centring on bilateral cooperation and the deepening of parliamentary linkages between the two countries.

'Pleased to meet the Chairman of the State Duma of Russia, Vyacheslav Volodin and his delegation in New Delhi. We discussed our bilateral cooperation as well as opportunities for deepening our parliamentary linkages,' Jaishankar posted on X.

Volodin's Visit and BRICS Forum

Volodin arrived in India on Sunday for a working visit — his first working trip abroad — to attend the two-day forum in New Delhi. Ahead of his meeting with Jaishankar, he delivered the opening address at the plenary session of the forum, where he stressed that BRICS nations are bound by a shared commitment to a multipolar world order.

'We represent countries with different political systems, economic models, and traditions. But we are united in building a multipolar world, respecting different approaches and national legislations, and recognising the right of each state to a sovereign path of development,' Volodin said.

He also underlined that BRICS, now in its 20th year, has evolved into 'one of the key pillars of the emerging multipolar world and a just world order.'

Putin's Greetings to Modi

Earlier in the day, Volodin also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inauguration of the forum and conveyed 'warm greetings and best wishes' from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The meeting signalled Moscow's intent to use the parliamentary forum as a diplomatic channel alongside formal state-level engagement.

Russia-India Strategic Partnership

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, bilateral meetings with members of India's Parliament were also planned during the visit, reflecting the depth of what Moscow describes as a 'privileged strategic partnership' rooted in traditions of 'Druzhba Dosti' — friendship and trust.

'Relations between Russia and India constitute a privileged strategic partnership, rooted in traditions of friendship, trust and mutually beneficial cooperation. It is important to contribute to developing and strengthening these relations through parliamentary cooperation,' the ministry stated.

Broader Context

The forum comes at a moment when India has maintained its independent diplomatic posture — balancing its engagement with Russia against Western pressure stemming from the ongoing Ukraine conflict. New Delhi's hosting of the BRICS Parliamentary Forum reinforces its role as a key node in the bloc's expanding institutional architecture. This is the third major India-Russia high-level engagement in 2026, following meetings at the foreign minister and national security adviser levels earlier in the year.

With parliamentary-level contacts now formally on the agenda, both sides appear intent on broadening the bandwidth of the bilateral relationship beyond trade and defence.