India’s Modi to meet Putin in Moscow as each facet see to forge deeper ties

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at some level of their meeting at Taj Exotic Resort on October, 15, 2016 in Benaulim, Goa, India.

Mikhail Svetlov | Getty Photos Files | Getty Photos

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is made up our minds to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, marking his first visit to the Kremlin for the reason that invasion of Ukraine.

Their meeting is foremost because it is the Indian premier’s first bilateral time out foreign since he used to be reelected for a rare third time frame in June.

The 2 leaders are situation to toughen the improvement of “historically pleasant members of the family between Russia and India,” as successfully as discuss “topical components on the enviornment and regional agendas,” the Kremlin said last week.

The meeting will present a probability for the 2 sides to overview a kind of bilateral components — from protection and commerce, to funding ties and energy cooperation, India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said in a media briefing on Friday.

Russia and India will additionally assess the jam of bilateral engagements in groupings equivalent to the Shanghai Cooperation Group, the Community of 20, the BRICS bloc of making nations, the United Nations, and the East Asia Summit, Kwatra said.

“The predicament of early discharge of Indian nationals who enjoy been misled into the service of the Russian army is additionally expected to resolve within the discussions,” Kwatra added.

Since March, India has sought the free up of nationals, said to enjoy been “duped” into serving within the Russian army, following the uncovering of what the South Asian nation has labeled as a “most foremost human trafficking network.”

Russia’s elephantine-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought about a slew of sanctions from the Community of seven nations, as successfully as other international locations, as world leaders sought to chop off or restrict Moscow’s capability to fund the battle. The Kremlin has insisted on calling the invasion a “special navy operation.”

India has refrained from outright criticism of Putin nonetheless has kept a neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while urging each facet to end the battle. Unusual Delhi, nonetheless, condemned the killing of civilians early within the Ukraine wrestle nonetheless did now no longer attach blame to Russia.

Modi’s visit to the Kremlin comes on the heels of his meeting with G7 leaders in Italy last month, where the bloc of industrialized nations — made up of the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom — agreed to fund Ukraine’s battle against Russia with earnings from frozen Kremlin sources.

India and Russia enjoy shared a prolonged-standing security cooperation partnership for the reason that Cold War duration, with Unusual Delhi’s armed forces heavily reliant on Moscow for navy tools.

Modi’s last visit to Russia used to be in 2019 when he visited the a long way jap port of Vladivostok for an financial dialogue board. The 2 last met in individual in 2022 at the Shanghai Cooperation Group held in Uzbekistan, where Modi had suggested the Russian president that it used to be now no longer an technology of battle nonetheless stopped instant of condemning his actions in Ukraine.

Russia, fancy the U.S., has its comprise jam in India’s foreign policy, said worn Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal in a fresh put up on social media platform, X.

“Neither India nor the enviornment south lift demonstrate of Putin an world pariah,” the worn ambassador to Russia added.

India’s bilateral commerce with Russia jumped 33% within the financial yr ended March 2024, hitting an all-time high of $65.7 billion. Nonetheless, commerce remains imbalanced, Kwatra pointed out.

India’s exports to Russia enjoy been $4.26 billion, while imports from the Kremlin amounted diagram $61.44 billion, legit files confirmed.

Following his two-day visit to Russia, Modi will head to Vienna, Austria on Tuesday in what could per chance presumably be the first visit by an Indian top minister in 41 years.