India’s Modi to meet Putin in Moscow as both sides seek to forge deeper ties

India’s
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
is
set
to
meet
President
Vladimir
Putin
in
Moscow
on
Monday,
marking
his
first
visit
to
the
Kremlin
since
the
invasion
of
Ukraine.

Their
meeting
is
significant
as
it’s
the
Indian
premier’s
first
bilateral
trip
overseas
since
he
was

reelected
for
a
rare
third
term
in
June.

The
two
leaders are
set
to
reinforce
the
development
of
“traditionally
friendly
relations
between
Russia
and
India,”
as
well
as
discuss
“topical
issues
on
the
international
and
regional
agendas,”
the

Kremlin
said
last
week.

The
meeting
will
provide
an
opportunity
for
the
two
sides
to
review
a
range
of
bilateral
issues
—
from
defense
and
trade,
to
investment
ties
and
energy
cooperation, India’s
Foreign
Secretary
Vinay
Kwatra
said

in
a
media
briefing
on
Friday.

Russia
and
India
will
also
assess
the
status
of
bilateral
engagements
in
groupings
such
as
the
Shanghai
Cooperation
Organization,
the
Group
of
20,
the
BRICS
bloc
of
developing
nations,
the
United
Nations, and
the
East
Asia
Summit,
Kwatra
said.

“The
issue
of
early
discharge
of
Indian
nationals
who
have
been
misled
into
the
service
of
the
Russian
army
is
also
expected
to
figure
in
the
discussions,”
Kwatra
added.

Since
March,
India
has

sought
the
release
of
nationals,
said
to
have
been
“duped”
into
serving
in
the
Russian
army,
following
the
uncovering
of
what
the
South
Asian
nation
has
labeled
as
a
“major
human
trafficking
network.”

Russia’s
full-scale
invasion
of
Ukraine
in
February
2022
triggered
a
slew
of
sanctions
from
the
Group
of
7
nations,
as
well
as
other
countries,
as
world
leaders
sought
to
cut
off
or
limit
Moscow’s
ability
to
fund
the
war. The
Kremlin
has
insisted
on
calling
the
invasion
a
“special
military
operation.” 

India
has
refrained
from
outright
criticism
of
Putin
but has kept
a
neutral
stance
on
Russia’s
invasion
of
Ukraine, while
urging both
sides
to
end
the
war.

New
Delhi,
however,
condemned
the
killing
of
civilians
early
in
the
Ukraine
conflict
but
did
not
assign
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
war
against
Russia with profits
from
frozen
Kremlin
assets.

India
and
Russia
have shared
a
long-standing
security
cooperation
partnership
since
the
Cold
War
period,
with
New
Delhi’s
armed
forces heavily
reliant
on
Moscow
for
military
equipment.

Modi’s
last
visit
to
Russia
was
in
2019
when
he
visited
the
far
eastern
port
of
Vladivostok
for
an
economic
forum.
The
two last
met
in
person
in
2022
at
the

Shanghai
Cooperation
Organization
held
in
Uzbekistan,
where
Modi
had
told
the
Russian
president that
it
was
not
an
era
of
war
but
stopped
short
of
condemning
his
actions
in
Ukraine.

Russia,
like
the
U.S.,
has
its
own
place
in
India’s
foreign
policy,

said
former
Indian
Foreign
Secretary
Kanwal
Sibal
in
a
recent
post
on
social
media
platform,
X.

“Neither
India
nor
the
global
south
consider
Putin
an
international
pariah,”
the
former
ambassador
to
Russia
added. 

India’s
bilateral
trade
with
Russia
jumped
33%
in
the
financial
year
ended
March 2024,

hitting
an
all-time
high
of
$65.7
billion.
However,
trade
remains
imbalanced,
Kwatra
pointed
out.

India’s
exports
to
Russia
were
$4.26
billion,
while
imports
from
the
Kremlin
amounted
near
$61.44
billion,
official
data
showed.

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