Moscow/New Delhi : New Delhi and Moscow are actively preparing for the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s planned visit to India in December. He will attend the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit. The Russian media quoted Deputy National Security Advisor Pawan Kapoor as saying this. The anticipation is high for Putin’s December visit to India as it marks an important milestone in bilateral relations.
“We are currently preparing for President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in December. We meet regularly bilaterally and on the sidelines of international events,” Kapoor was quoted as saying by Russia’s state-owned news agency Tass. This followed the Russian-Indian consultations on regional issues held in Moscow on Tuesday.
The much-awaited visit is likely to take place in the first week of December. Officials are ensuring everything is in place for Putin’s December visit to India.
India’s Deputy NSA pointed that relations between both countries remain deep. Interactions take place consistently at the highest levels.
He highlighted National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s visit to Moscow in August. Doval met with the Russian head of state and Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar then met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in New York. This meeting was on the sidelines of the UNGA.
Prime Minister Modi also held a bilateral meeting with the Russian President on the sidelines of SCO Summit last month. He cited that the close cooperation of both nations is important for peace, prosperity, and stability in the world. This sets the stage for Putin’s highly anticipated December visit to India.
During their meeting, PM Modi said that 1.40 crore Indians are “eagerly waiting” for the Russian President’s arrival. This will be for the 23rd India-Russia Summit in December.
“This is the definition of our deep, ‘special and privileged strategic partnership’,” PM Modi had said.
Highlighting the strong bilateral relations between the two nations, he said, “In the most difficult times also, India and Russia have always walked shoulder-to-shoulder with each other. Our close cooperation is not only important for the people of both countries but also for the peace, prosperity and stability in the world.”
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi said that India welcomes all the recent efforts in the direction of resolving the conflict.
“We hope that all the involved parties will proceed further constructively. We will have to figure out ways to end the conflict as soon as possible to restore the regional stability and peace. This is the call of the entire humanity,” PM Modi added.
Earlier, both leaders had boarded the same car to the venue of the bilateral meeting. This underlined the importance of Putin’s visit to India this December.
In his opening remarks at the SCO Summit, Putin said that he highly valued the contributions of India. He also credited other strategic partners in facilitating a resolution to the Ukraine conflict.
“We highly value the efforts and proposals of China, India and our other strategic partners, aimed at facilitating the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis,” Putin said. He was speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.
–IANS
