The visit comes in the backdrop of the ongoing Ukraine conflict

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit Russia on November 7-8 amid fears of further escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.

During his stay in Moscow, he will meet his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Discussions are expected to cover the entire range of bilateral issues as well as an exchange of views on various regional and international developments, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said announcing the visit during the weekly media briefing on Thursday.

In addition to meeting Foreign Minister Lavrov, EAM Jaishankar will also meet the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade & Industry Denis Manturov, Bagchi said.

India has so far taken a neutral approach on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and maintained that its stand would be guided by its own national interest. It has strongly defended the decision to buy oil from Russian sources.

India has abstained from voting in the key United Nations Security Council resolutions against Russia, despite pressure from western nations.

On Wednesday, India also abstained from voting on a resolution that Russia tried to move in the UNSC to investigate what Moscow alleges is a US-Ukrainian military biological programme.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Samarkand in September this year.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi had remarked that "this is not the era of war" and the comment had received praised from several western nations that have wanted India to come out against Russia's military operations in Ukraine.