- Thursday, May 09, 2024
The Indian foreign minister is in Moscow on a five-day official visit and met Putin and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
By: Shubham Ghosh
RUSSIAN president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (27) invited Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to visit his country next year as Indian external affairs minister Subrahmanyam 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 Indian diplomat, who is in Moscow on a five-day official visit, earlier met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
During a joint media appearance along with Lavrov after their talks, Jaishankar said he was confident that Modi and Putin will meet for an annual summit next year.
Read: Putin lauds Modi’s foreign policy, says a lot has been done under him: ‘Future belongs to India’
In his opening remarks earlier, Jaishankar said that the two leaders have been in frequent contact.
Honoured to call on President Vladimir Putin this evening. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi and handed over a personal message.
Apprised President Putin of my discussions with Ministers Manturov and Lavrov. Appreciated his guidance on the further developments of… pic.twitter.com/iuC944fYHq
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) December 27, 2023
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.
Read: Putin praises Modi, seeks to emulate India PM’s ‘Make in India’ initiative
“Honoured to call on President Vladimir Putin this evening. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi and handed over a personal message. Apprised President Putin of my discussions with Ministers Manturov and Lavrov. Appreciated his guidance on the further developments of our ties,” Jaishankar said in his post on X.
A wide ranging and useful meeting with FM Sergey Lavrov of Russia.
As strategic partners, discussed the international situation and contemporary issues. Exchanged views on Indo-Pacific, the Ukraine conflict, the Gaza situation , Afghanistan and Central Asia, BRICS, SCO, G20 and… pic.twitter.com/Uk9VTbZm5y
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) December 27, 2023
So far, 21 annual summits have taken place alternatively in India and Russia, two all-weather allies.
The last summit took place in New Delhi in December 2021. Putin also said that the trade turnover between Russia and India is growing, particularly on account of crude oil and high technology areas.
“Our trade turnover is growing, for the second year in a row at the same time and at a steady pace. The growth rate this year is even higher than in the last year,” he said.
On Tuesday (26), Jaishankar 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 the southern Indian state of 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.
(With PTI inputs)
