Indian Prime Minister Modi meets Russian President Putin in Moscow | Wilnesh News

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, his first visit to the Kremlin since the invasion of Ukraine.

Their meeting is significant as it is the Indian prime minister’s first bilateral overseas trip since his rare re-election to a third term in June.

The two leaders will strengthen the development of “traditional friendly relations between Russia and India” and discuss “hot topics on the international and regional agenda” Kremlin says last week.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said the meeting would provide an opportunity for both sides to review a range of bilateral issues – from defense and trade to investment ties and energy cooperation. at a media briefing on Friday.

Kwatra said Russia and India will also assess the status of bilateral exchanges in organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Group of 20, the BRICS, the United Nations and the East Asia Summit.

“The issue of early retirement of Indian nationals who were misled into serving in the Russian army is also expected to come up in discussions,” Kwatra added.

Since March, India The Russian Federation is seeking the release of nationals it said were “deceived” into serving in the Russian military after what it called a “major human trafficking network” in the South Asian country was revealed.

India has not directly criticized Putin, but Remain neutral on Russia’s invasion of Ukrainewhile urging both sides to end the war. New Delhi, however, condemned the killing of civilians in the early days of the conflict in Ukraine but stopped short of blaming Russia.

Before Modi visits the Kremlin, Meet with G7 leaders Last month in Italy, a group of industrialized countries including the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom agreed Financing Ukraine’s war against Russia and profits from assets frozen by the Kremlin.

Both India and Russia have Have a long-term security partnership New Delhi’s armed forces have relied heavily on Moscow’s military equipment since the Cold War.

Modi last visited Russia in 2019, when he visited the Far East port of Vladivostok to attend an economic forum. The last time the two met face-to-face was at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Uzbekistan in 2022, when Modi told the Russian president that this was not a time of war but stopped short of condemning his actions in Ukraine.

Like the United States, Russia also has a role in India’s foreign policy, Kanwal Sibal, the former foreign secretary of India, recently posted on the social media platform X.

The former ambassador to Russia added: “Neither India nor the global South consider Putin an international pariah.”

In the fiscal year ending March 2024, bilateral trade between India and Russia grew by 33%. A record high of US$65.7 billion. However, Quatra noted that trade remains unbalanced.

Official data showed India’s exports to Russia were worth $4.26 billion, while imports from the Kremlin were close to $61.44 billion.

After a two-day visit to Russia, Modi will travel to Vienna, Austria, on Tuesday, which will be the first visit by an Indian prime minister in 41 years.