New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday proposed a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 October in Kazan, on the sidelines of the BRICS leaders’ summit.
Putin made the proposal to Indian National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval during a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS NSA conclave in St. Petersburg, Russia.
“We are waiting for his excellency Prime Minister Modi in Kazan and I propose to organise a bilateral meeting on the 22 October in order to analyse the result of our joint work dealing with implementation of agreements which were reached during his visit to Moscow… So we are waiting for our good friend Prime Minister Modi,” Putin said during the meeting.
Doval also briefed the Russian president on the outcomes of talks between the Indian Prime Minister and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which happened earlier in August.
If the bilateral meeting between Modi and Putin takes place, it would be their second this year, after the Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow in July. At that meeting, the two leaders discussed a myriad of issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war, where Modi reiterated that a solution could not be found on the battlefield.
That meeting had irked America as it coincided with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation leaders’ summit in Washington D.C. The US State Department in July expressed its disappointment over the symbolism and timing of Modi’s Russia visit.
Modi made a trip to Ukraine in August — the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister since the inception of the country — where he once again reiterated India’s position on war.
On his return, Modi spoke with both Biden and Putin over telephone, and shared his insights from the visit to Ukraine. After the call, the Kremlin said Modi had confirmed his readiness to attend the BRICS leaders’ summit in Kazan, which is scheduled for October this year.
The war, which Moscow dubs a “special military operation”, has continued for over two years now, with Russia making multiple gains in land in recent weeks in east Ukraine, while Kyiv has made significant gains in Kursk.
India recently announced that it would be willing to give advice to either country if requested.
However, there are challenges in the India-Russia relationship, including over the fate of Indians who were lured into fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has said that 45 Indians have returned to India — about 35 of them after Modi’s visit to Moscow — while another 50 have indicated they wished to return at the earliest.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: Modi & Putin ‘exchange perspectives’ on Russia-Ukraine conflict a day after PM’s call with Biden