Modi to focus on trade imbalance, Indian soldiers in talks with Putin
trade imbalance with Russia and securing the discharge of Indians misled into fighting in the Ukraine war will be among Prime Minister Narendra Modi's priorities during talks in Moscow next week, a top official said on Friday.
Modi will visit Russia on July 8-9 for talks with President Vladimir Putin as part of annual summits between New Delhi and Moscow, launched in 2000.
Modi's visit coincides with the July 9-11 NATO summit in Washington at which the Ukraine war will hold centre stage, and the timing has raised questions about the signal India could be sending.
But Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, the most senior diplomat in the foreign ministry, rejected any connection and said Modi's visit was part of the calendar of summits between the two countries.
«The bilateral visit this time is just a scheduling priority that we have undertaken and that's what it is,» he told reporters in response to a question at a briefing on Modi's visit.
New Delhi shares historic bonds with Moscow going back to the days of the Soviet Union but has moved closer to the West, especially Washington, in recent decades as it liberalised its economy and expanded its geopolitical ties.
At the same time, it has sought to maintain what is seen as strategic autonomy in its self interest.
India has refrained from criticising Russia over its war in Ukraine and urged the neighbours to resolve their conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, while increasing purchases of cheap Russian oil to record levels.
PUSHING EXPORTS
Kwatra said
