Russia & India looking at Modi’s brief visit to Moscow next month

New Delhi: India and Russia are looking at the possibility of a brief visit to Moscow by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in early July to hold wide-ranging talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.

If the visit takes place, it will be Modi’s first trip to Russia in nearly five years. His last visit to Russia was in 2019 when he attended an economic conclave in the Far East city of Vladivostok. Though there is no confirmation from the Indian side on Modi’s possible visit, a Kremlin official in Moscow said active preparations are underway for the trip. “I can confirm that we are preparing a visit by the prime minister of India. We cannot (say) the dates as yet, because the dates are announced by the parties in agreement,” Yuri Ushakov, an assistant to the Russian president, said.

“But we are actively preparing. I will emphasise once again, this visit will take place,” he told reporters, replying to a question. Diplomatic sources said the Indian prime minister’s day-long visit is being planned around July 8, adding there is no finality on the date yet and various options are being explored. If Modi travels to Russia, then he and President Putin are set to hold the India-Russia annual summit after a gap of three years.

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.

So far, 21 annual summits have taken place 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. The summit saw both sides sealing 28 MoUs and agreements, besides coming out with a joint statement titled “India-Russia Partnership for Peace, Progress

and Prosperity”.