‘Will be glad to see our friend’: Vladimir Putin invites PM Modi to Russia
During a joint media appearance along with Lavrov after their talks, Jaishankar said he was confident that Prime Minister Modi and President Putin will meet for an annual summit next year.
In his opening remarks earlier, Jaishankar said that the two leaders have been in frequent contact.
“We will be glad to see our friend, Mr. Prime Minister Modi in Russia,” Putin told Jaishankar during their interaction.
“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 said.
“I ask you to give him my best wishes and please tell him that we are waiting for him in Russia,” Putin told Jaishankar, adding, “Although I know that India next year will have a busy political schedule” (referring to the 2024 Lok Sabha Election).
“We wish success to our friends in India,” Putin said.
“Honoured to call on President Vladimir Putin this evening. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi and handed over a personal message. Apprised President Putin of my discussions with Ministers Manturov and Lavrov. Appreciated his guidance on the further developments of our ties,” Jaishankar said in his post on X.
So far, 21 annual summits have taken place alternatively in India and Russia. The last summit took place in New Delhi in December 2021.
Putin also said that the trade turnover between Russia and India is growing, particularly on account of crude oil and high technology areas.
The ties between India and Russia remained strong notwithstanding Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
India’s import of Russian crude oil has gone up significantly despite increasing disquiet over it in many Western countries.