Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that given the “highly trusting nature” of relations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, no topic will be taboo for the two leaders during their meeting here.
Mr Peskov said that the dates of Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Moscow will be announced later but preparations for it are already in the final stages.
Mr Putin and Prime Minister Modi will discuss regional and global security, trade and all other issues on the agenda during their meeting, Russian state news agency TASS quoted Peskov as saying.
“We (Russia and India) jointly participate in integration processes, so regional issues, regional security and global security are always top of the agenda. Apart from that, of course, our bilateral trade and economic interaction is always a central focus,” the Kremlin official said, responding to a question on what topics would be discussed in the talks between Putin and Modi.
Describing Prime Minister Modi’s visit as “very important”, the official said Moscow and New Delhi have a “mutual political will” to develop cooperation in various fields.
Mr. Peskov said, “Given the extremely trusting nature of relations between President Putin and Prime Minister Modi, we can expect an exchange of views on all issues on the agenda, and there are many.”
Responding to a question about the dates of Modi’s visit to Russia, he said, “We will make an official announcement of the visit later after coordinating with our Indian friends. I can only confirm to you once again that preparations for the visit are in the final stages.”
Diplomatic sources in New Delhi had said that the one-day visit of the Indian Prime Minister is being planned around July 8. They said that the date has not been decided yet and various options are being considered.
If this visit happens, it will be Prime Minister Modi’s first visit to Russia in nearly five years. His last visit to Russia was in 2019 when he attended an economic conference in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok.
If Prime Minister Modi visits Russia, he and President Putin will 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.
Till now 21 annual summits have been held alternately in India and Russia.
The last summit was held in New Delhi on December 6, 2021. Putin has visited India nine times as the Russian head of state.
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