Liz Truss visits India on same day as Sergei Lavrov

Foreign secretary Liz Truss and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov are both visiting India in competing efforts to strengthen ties.

Ms Truss will urge Delhi to work with other democracies to counter Russia's invasion of Ukraine, by reducing its dependence on Moscow.

The Russian foreign minister will call on India to bypass Western sanctions, and buy more Russian oil and gas.

India has not condemned the invasion and did not vote against it at the UN.

Ms Truss, who has spoken of a "network of liberty", will tell her Indian opposite number it's vital that democracies work together to deter aggressors.

In a statement, she said the war in Ukraine had underlined the need to boost security in the Indo-Pacific region and globally, and for closer co-operation in areas like defence, trade and cyber-security.

But Mr Lavrov will use his visit to push for closer trade links to help reduce the impact of the sanctions imposed on Moscow. Earlier this month, India agreed to import three million barrels of heavily discounted Russian oil.

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent, James Landale, said Delhi's reluctance to criticise the war in Ukraine reflected its Cold War ties with Moscow and the fact that about 70% of its military hardware came from Russia. US President Joe Biden has described India as "somewhat shaky" on the conflict.

During her trip, the UK foreign secretary will also confirm £70m of UK investment in the development of renewable energy in India, one of the world's biggest users of hydrocarbons.

She will announce a joint cyber-security programme aimed at protecting online infrastructure in both countries from attacks.

Last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson struck an agreement with India's PM Narendra Modi to strengthen ties over the coming decade.