Russia is expecting a “full-fledged visit” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Moscow, which is crucial for the bilateral relations, Kremlin said on Saturday. PM Modi will be in Moscow from July 8 to 9 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.
The two leaders will review the entire range of multifaceted relations between the two countries and exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest. In an interview with Russia’s state-run channel, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the agenda of PM Modi’s Moscow trip will be extensive.
‘Very Important Visit’
“Obviously, the agenda will be extensive, if not to say overbusy. It will be an official visit, and we hope that the heads will be able to talk in an informal way as well,” he said. Peskov said that Russian-Indian relations are at the level of strategic partnership. He said that there would be both one-on-one talks in the Kremlin and those involving delegations. “We are expecting a very important and full-fledged visit, which is so crucial for Russian-Indian relations,” he was quoted as saying by the official Tass news agency.
It will be Modi’s first visit to Russia in nearly five years. His last visit to Russia was in 2019 when he attended an economic conclave in the Far East city of Vladivostok. The annual summit between the prime minister of India and the president of Russia is the highest institutional dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two countries. As many as 21 annual summits have taken place alternately in India and Russia. The last annual summit was held on December 6, 2021 in New Delhi. President Putin had visited India to attend the summit.
Russia has had strong ties with India since the Cold War, and New Delhi’s importance as a key trading partner for Moscow has grown since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Keeping its national interest in mind, India has become one of the key buyers of Russian oil following sanctions imposed by the US and its allies that shut most Western markets for Russian exports.
(With agency inputs)
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