PM Modi in Russia today: Talks with Vladimir Putin to focus on trade, Indians in Ukraine war and China ties | 10 Updates

PM Modi in Russia today: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Russia today afternoon for a two-day official visit. He will be in Moscow at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state channel VGTRK that PM Modi’s schedule in Moscow is expected to be extensive. He added that the two leaders would be able to have informal talks.

A Significant Visit

Notably, PM Modi's visit to Russia comes after a three-year gap. Vinay Kumar, India's Ambassador to Russia, told newswire ANI that the visit is “very significant” and “very important” for bilateral ties and regional and mutual interests.

PM Modi is breaking the convention of visiting a South Asian neighbour as the first country for an official visit after the election with this Russia trip. It also comes while Western giants are sidelining Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

The 21st India-Russia Annual Bilateral Summit in New Delhi was held in December 2021, and Vladimir Putin visited the national capital. According to External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, the two leaders have met 16 times in the past 10 years.

PM Modi last visited Russia in 2019, attending an economic conclave in the Far East city of Vladivostok. India and Russia have held close ties since the Cold War, and Russia was, for a long time, India's biggest arms supplier.

Here Are The Top 10 Updates

• Newswire ANI reported that PM Modi's agenda in Moscow includes discussions with Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on regional and global issues of mutual importance.
• According to Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, Indo-Pacific developments would likely feature prominently in their talks, underscoring their significance to both India and Russia. “These engagements will begin with a restricted-level discussion between the two leaders, followed by delegation-level talks,” he said.
• Modi is also expected to engage with the Indian community in Russia.
• On July 9, a community event is scheduled to “highlight cultural ties between India and Russia”, ANI reported. It will feature performances by Russian artists trained in the Indian classical dance Kathak.
• Senior diplomats told Bloomberg that major announcements are “unlikely”, but the visit is set to “signal” that India and Russia “remain close”.

• Russia's budding ties with China are also expected to make the talks as Indo-Sino relations have stalled since the latter's border incursions in Ladakh in 2020.
• China's sea aggression is also likely to be brought up, as India is a member of the Quad grouping alongside the United States, Japan, and Australia, which aims to counterbalance China's increasing assertiveness in the Asia-Pacific region.
• “India, situated between Russia, China, and the West, seeks more predictability from Russia and is willing to play a bigger role in promoting peace in Ukraine … behind closed doors, Putin may face questions from Modi about the increasingly close ties between Russia and China,” Petr Topychkanov, associate senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute told Bloomberg.
• Kwatra told Bloomberg that talks are also likely about the trade imbalance, with India importing $60 billion worth of Russian goods but sending only $5 billion in exports to Russia.
• Nandan Unnikrishnan of the Observer Research Foundation told AFP that the “human cost” from the Indian side in the Ukraine war is also likely to be discussed. Reports alleged that some Indians in Russia were forced to engage in combat and had lost their lives in Ukraine. While India has not explicitly condemned Russia for its Ukraine war, it is “actively negotiating” the release of its citizens recruited for “support jobs” with the Russian military, the AFP report said.

(With inputs from Agencies)