Modi says he looks forward to hosting him
New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday evening called up Russian President Vladimir Putin to greet him on his 73rd birthday. During the phone call, the two leaders also “reviewed the progress in bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia”, New Delhi said, adding that Modi “conveyed that he looks forward to welcoming President Putin to India for the 23rd India-Russia annual summit”. The phone call is also being seen as a strong message to the Trump administration in Washington.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, New Delhi said: “Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation today with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Prime Minister warmly congratulated President Putin on his 73rd birthday and conveyed best wishes for good health and success in all his endeavours.”
Just last month, on September 17, President Putin had also called Modi to convey birthday wishes. Thanking President Putin, Modi had said: “India is ready to make all possible contributions towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict”. Modi had also then posted on X: “Thank you, my friend, President Putin, for your phone call and warm wishes on my 75th birthday. We are committed to further strengthening our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to visit India in the first week of December, with some reports indicating the visit could take place on December 5 and 6 for the bilateral summit between the two nations that he will co-chair along with Prime Minister Modi. Ahead of Putin’s trip, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to India next month to finalise the finer details of the presidential visit.
It may be recalled that President Putin had last visited India four years ago, in December, 2021, just about two and a half months before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in February, 2022. This will be his first visit to India since the outbreak of that war while Mr Modi has met the Russian President a few times in person abroad, including the meeting just about five weeks ago in the Chinese port city of Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO summit. Modi had also visited Russia twice last year, including once to Moscow for the annual summit. India and Russia are time-tested friends and have been very close strategic partners for decades, including as the former Soviet Union.
India and Russia have “always stood shoulder-to-shoulder even in the most difficult situations”, Modi told President Putin at the hour-long “excellent” formal bilateral meeting in Tianjin last month. Modi had then said both “discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in all sectors, including trade, fertilisers, space, security and culture” and also “exchanged views on regional and global developments, including the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine”. New Delhi had said the two leaders also discussed bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, which is significant as India is the second largest importer of Russian oil after China, and has been slapped with a 50 per cent tariff by the United States in August, half of which is a “penalty” for importing Russian oil.
