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File picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. Putin is set to visit India in early 2025
| Photo Credit: PTI
In a sign of closer engagement between India and Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin for a summit, due to be held early next year. Dates for the visit, which would be Mr. Putin’s first trip to India since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, are still to be decided, said Mr. Putin’s foreign policy advisor Yury Ushakov on Monday (December 2, 2024) , confirming that the Kremlin has received the invitation.
The announcement comes weeks after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with Russian Deputy PM Denis Manturov in India for an Inter-Governmental meeting, and days ahead of a visit by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Russia this weekend, indicating that preparatory talks for the Putin visit in 2025 are already underway.
Significantly, Mr. Ushakov confirmed that Mr. Putin would hold the annual summit with Mr. Modi during the visit, which means that the 23rd summit would be held just months after the previous summit was held in Moscow in July 2024.
“Our leaders have an agreement to hold meetings once a year. This time, it’s our turn,” Mr. Ushakov said at a briefing in Moscow, according to a press release by the Russian Embassy in India. “We will figure out the tentative dates early next year,” he added.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi said that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will travel to Moscow and Kaliningrad to witness the commissioning of Tushil, the first of two stealth frigates under construction there for the Indian Navy. The second frigate Tamal is scheduled to be delivered in the first quarter of 2025. In October 2016, India and Russia had signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for four stealth frigates, two to be built in Russia and two to be constructed in India, through technology transfer, by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL). The two sides are expected to discuss delivery schedules for other purchase agreements like the S-400 air defence systems, which are due to arrive in India in 2025.
Mr. Putin’s visit next year is expected to take forward the new “economic roadmap” for 2030 that the leaders have agreed to in terms of doubling bilateral trade to US $100 billion and increasing trade routes including the recently operationalised Chennai-Vladivostok maritime trade corridor to provide fresh supplies trade from Russia, which rose to nearly US $60 billion last year.
In addition to bilateral ties, Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin are also expected to discuss possible peace moves in the Ukraine war, particularly as their meet is expected to take place as the next United States President Donald Trump takes office. Prime Minister Narendra Modi became one of the few leaders in 2024 to visit both Moscow and Kiev to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has said that India remains in position to convey positions between the two sides during the war to help end the conflict. The offer found was welcomed in Moscow, where Mr. Putin thanked leaders of India, China and other countries for their efforts, and has also praised Mr. Trump for backing peace efforts.
“We do appreciate very much Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mediation offer and his efforts to promote peace. I believe that India could offer a perfect venue to host talks, especially between Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump,” Dmitry Kiselev, General Director of the Sputnik News Agency, one of a number of Russian visitors in New Delhi recently, told The Hindu.
News that Mr. Putin would visit Delhi “soon” was first delivered by his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov during a virtual conference with Indian media in November, who said that Mr. Putin and Mr. Modi have a “special relationship”, and met twice this year, in Moscow in July, and at the BRICS summit in Kazan in October.
“[The leaders] maintain regular contact, holding telephone conversations once every couple of months. The two leaders also hold in-person meetings, particularly on the side-lines of international events,” the Russian Embassy said in its release.
(With inputs from Dinakar Peri)
Published – December 02, 2024 02:10 pm IST
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Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit India in early 2025: Kremlin confirms
