Putin invites Modi to discuss ‘complicated current issues’

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin today extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Russia not just to talk about the prospects for developing Russian-Indian relations, but also to discuss the “complicated” current issues.

“We know the position of Prime Minister Modi and have talked about this more than once. I am referring to his position, his attitude to complicated processes, including hot spots, the situation in Ukraine. I have repeatedly informed him about the situation around this conflict. I know about his striving to resolve this problem through peaceful means,” Putin told Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during a meeting in Kremlin today.

Also read: Russia wants joint production of modern weapons with India

“We [Modi and Putin] have to cover a lot of ground…So I would like to ask you to convey to him my best wishes and please, give him our invitation – we are looking forward to seeing him in Russia,” Putin said to which Dr. Jaishankar replied that the Indian Prime Minister was looking forward to visiting Russia next year.

“We will be happy to see our friend, Prime Minister Modi in Russia,” Putin told Dr. Jaishankar but acknowledged that he realised that next year, India’s domestic political calendar was “complicated” because of the impending general elections to Parliament. “We wish success to our friends in India. We believe we will maintain our traditional friendly ties in any alignment of political forces,” Putin said.

Putin noted that the bilateral trade between Russia and India had grown for the second year running and at a “confident pace”.

This year, the growth rates were even higher than last year, he pointed out. He added: “I don’t remember how many percentage points it grew by last year, but we have already surpassed this figure in the nine months of this year.” Dr. Jaishankar said the progress made in trade was in excess of a turnover of $50 billion last year. This was primarily because of energy resources – oil, oil products and coal. India has substantial investments in Russia, in oil and gas, which it is seeking to expand. Now both countries are working together in high-tech areas, and Putin said he was “very pleased to note that despite the current turbulences in the world, relations with our traditional friends in Asia, with India and the Indian people are making steady headway”.

Dr. Jaishankar told Putin that the potential of India-Russia trade was now only beginning to be visible. “It is important that we give it a more sustainable character, and we discussed how we should do that,” he said. He also referred to the nuclear side and pointed out that on December 26, 2023, both countries signed agreements which would take the Kudankulam project forward.

On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister and Chair of the Russian side of the Intergovernmental Russian-Indian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation Denis Manturov and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov.