National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India Ajit Kumar Doval shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday on the sidelines of the NSA BRICS meeting in St Petersburg, Russia
New Delhi:In a major diplomatic development, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday proposed to the Indian side to hold a separate bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan in October. This comes amid India's peace efforts to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The National Security Advisor is in St Petersburg, Russia to attend the NSA BRICS meeting. He met Russian President Putin on Thursday on the sidelines of the NSA BRICS meeting. It was during this meeting, that Prez Putin conveyed his desire to hold a separate bilateral meeting with PM Modi in October in Kazan. "We are waiting for Modi in Kazan, I propose to hold a bilateral meeting on October 22 in Kazan," Putin said at a meeting with National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of India Ajit Kumar Doval.
According to sources, Russian President Putin said, "This meeting could sum up the results of the joint work on the implementation of the agreement reached during the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Moscow, and to outline the prospects for the future" "I remember well, I already said at our general meeting, the visit of Modi [Indian Prime Minister] to Moscow, I must say that not only the visit itself was very successful, but also the work launched following its results is very meaningful, and at exactly the pace that we agreed with the Prime Minister," Putin said.
"Our Special Privileged Strategic partnership is gaining momentum and strength, which we are very pleased about. We are also pleased with India's successes in strengthening its statehood and in economic development under Prime Minister Modi's leadership. Security issues have always been and remain among our priorities. We are grateful to you for coming to St Petersburg. Last year, the meeting took place in Moscow. We appreciate that you are maintaining this dialogue from the Indian side," Putin added as per sources.
Meanwhile, NSA Ajit Doval briefed President Putin about PM Modi's visit to Ukraine and the closed-door meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky.
The BRICS NSA meeting is taking place amid a major push to resolve the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russian President Putin in the first week of this month has said that China, India and Brazil could act as mediators in potential peace talks over Ukraine. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia, President Putin noted that a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in the first week of the wars at talks in Istanbul, which was never implemented, could serve as the basis for talks.
Indian high-level officials, including NSA Doval, have so far participated in several talks at the international level on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. India has maintained a neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, emphasising dialogue and diplomacy. It has called for a peaceful resolution and avoided directly criticising Russia, while also balancing its relations with Western countries and supporting humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
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