Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday got an invite from Russia president Vladimir Putin to visit the country next year to discuss "all current issues" and talk about the outlook for the development of bilateral relations.
Putin asked the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who was at the Kremlin on Wednesday, to pass on to Modi “his best wishes” and an invitation to come to Russia. Jaishankar is in Russia on a five-day official visit and in talks with Putin, discussed the Ukraine conflict as well on Wednesday.
"We will be glad to see our friend, Mr. Prime Minister Modi in Russia," Russia President Putin told External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who called on the Russian leader at the Kremlin.
"We will be able to discuss all current issues, talk about the outlook for the development of Russian-Indian relations. We have a very large amount of work to do," Putin was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency.
Putin also reportedly said that he realises India will be busy with internal affairs next year due to the upcoming general elections.
'We know Prime Minister Modi’s position...'
Putin, in his meet with Jaishankar, also said that the trade turnover between Russia and India is growing, particularly on account of crude oil and high technology areas, Tass reported.
"Our trade turnover is growing, for the second year in a row at the same time and at a steady pace. The growth rate this year is even higher than in the last year," the report quoted Putin as saying.
As soon as the meeting started, the Russian president told Jaishankar that they will discuss the conflict in Ukraine. "We know Prime Minister Modi’s position and we have repeatedly spoken about this — the position concerning his attitude to complex processes, including hotspots, to the situation in Ukraine," Putin said.
"I have repeatedly informed him about the situation around this conflict. I know about his desire to do everything to resolve this problem peacefully, but we will now talk more about it. We will provide you with additional information about this situation,” Putin said.
(with PTI inputs)
