New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Russia next year, the country's state media reported on Wednesday evening. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on the Russian leader at the Kremlin.
"We will be glad to see our friend, Mr. Prime Minister Modi in Russia," Putin told Jaishankar.
The EAM, who is in Russia on a five-day official visit, earlier met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
"Our trade is growing for the second year running and at a confident pace. This year, the growth rates were even higher than last year. It is common knowledge that this is primarily energy resources – oil, oil products and coal, but it’s not just that. We are working together in high-tech areas," Putin said.
And he added, "We are very pleased to note that despite the current turbulences in the world, relations with our traditional friends in Asia, with India and the Indian people are making steady headway."
On Ukraine, Putin told EAM, "We know the position of Prime Minister Modi and have talked about this more than once. I am referring to his position, his attitude to complicated processes, including hot spots, the situation in Ukraine. I have repeatedly informed him about the situation around this conflict. I know about his striving to resolve this problem through peaceful means."
During a joint media appearance along with Lavrov after their talks, Jaishankar said he was confident that Prime Minister Modi and President Putin will meet for an annual summit next year. In his opening remarks earlier, Jaishankar said that the two leaders have been in frequent contact. The summit between the prime minister of India and the Russian president is the highest institutional dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two sides.
However, Putin is not sure whether Modi would be able to meet him in Russia keeping in mind the fact that India hits the polls next year, but he is hopeful. "I realise that next year, India’s domestic political calendar is not simple. It is complicated considering that India will hold general elections to parliament. We wish success to our friends in India. We believe we will maintain our traditional friendly ties in any alignment of political forces," he said.
So far, 21 annual summits have taken place alternatively in India and Russia. The last summit took place in New Delhi in December 2021.
On Tuesday, Jaishankar also held a "comprehensive and productive" meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on the bilateral economic cooperation during which they witnessed the signing of some "very important" agreements related to the construction of the future power-generating units of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. The ties between India and Russia remained strong notwithstanding Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
India's import of Russian crude oil has gone up significantly despite increasing disquiet over it in many Western countries.
Also read:
- India-Russia ties have been 'very strong, very steady': Jaishankar in meeting with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov
- Only constant in global politics has been the ties between India and Russia, says EAM Jaishankar
