PM Modi arrives in Moscow, to hold talks with Prez Putin

NEW DELHI: On his first bilateral visit to Russia as he began his third consecutive term in office after elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Moscow on Monday evening, underlining the importance of seven-decades old India-Russia relationship.

It is PM Modi’s first visit to Moscow since Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine. Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov received him at the airport.

“I look forward to further deepening special and privileged strategic partnership between our nations,” PM Modi said after landing in Moscow. He will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.

PM Modi has been walking a diplomatic tightrope, treading a fine line between maintaining a longstanding relationship with Moscow and at the same time courting closer Western security ties.

“I look forward to reviewing all aspects of bilateral cooperation with my friend President Vladimir Putin and sharing perspectives on various regional and global issues,” PM Modi said in a statement before his departure to Moscow.

“We seek to play a supportive role for a peaceful and stable region.”

Russia is a key, reliable and trusted supplier of cut-price oil and weapons to India. Western powers have in recent years also cultivated ties with India as a bulwark against China and its growing influence in the Asia-Pacific.

PM Modi last visited Russia in 2019 and hosted Putin in Delhi two years later, weeks before Russia began its offensive against Ukraine.

India and Russia have maintained a close relationship since the Cold War, and Russia was for a long time India’s largest arms supplier. But Ukraine has stretched Russia’s arms supplies thin. Russia’s share of Indian imports of arms has shrunk considerably in recent years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

At the same time, India has become a major buyer of Russian oil, providing a much-needed export market for Moscow after it was cut off from traditional buyers in Europe. That has dramatically reshaped energy ties, with India saving itself billions of dollars while bolstering Moscow’s war coffers.

PM Modi’s high-profile visit to Russia and his summit talks with President Vladimir Putin are likely to focus on boosting bilateral ties in areas of energy, trade and defence.

Russian President Putin is set to host a private dinner for Modi on Monday night ahead of Tuesday’s talks at the 22nd India-Russia summit in Moscow.

“PM is set to hold substantive discussions with President Vladimir Putin to take forward the special partnership between the two countries. He will also interact with the Indian community in Russia,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on ‘X’.

PM Modi was accorded a guard of honour at the airport. He was welcomed outside his hotel by a group of Russian artists who danced to the tune of Hindi songs.

“The special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia has advanced over the past 10 years, including in the areas of energy, security, trade, investment, health, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges,” Modi said in his departure statement. “We seek to play a supportive role for a peaceful and stable region,” he said without making any specific references.

New Delhi has been stoutly defending its “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Russia and maintained the momentum in the ties notwithstanding the Ukraine conflict.

India has not yet condemned Russia’s attack on Ukraine and has consistently pitched for a resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

The prime minister said the visit will also provide him an opportunity to meet the vibrant Indian community in Russia. In a post on ‘X’, Modi, before leaving for Moscow, said: “Over the next three days, will be in Russia and Austria. These visits will be a wonderful opportunity to deepen ties with these nations, with whom India has time-tested friendship.”

Ahead of Modi’s visit to Moscow, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the agenda will be “extensive”. “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.

In the talks, Modi is expected to urge the Russians to end the recruitment of Indians as support staff to the Russian military and ensure a return to home of those still operating in the force.

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. The annual summits are held alternatively in India and Russia.

The last summit was held on December 6, 2021 in New Delhi. President Putin had visited India to attend the summit.

PM Modi and President Putin last held bilateral talks on the margins of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at Samarkand in Uzbekistan on September 16, 2022. In the meeting, Modi had pressed Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine saying “today’s era is not of war”.

From Russia, PM Modi will travel to Austria on July 9 to 10. He described the country as India’s “steadfast and reliable partner” “In Austria, I will have the opportunity to meet President Alexander Van der Bellen and Chancellor Karl Nehammer,” Modi said.

“This is the first visit of an Indian prime minister in over 40 years. I look forward to my discussions to take our partnership to even greater heights in new and emerging areas of innovation, technology and sustainable development among others,” he said.