New Delhi, Sep 12: Russian President Vladmir Putin on Thursday proposed a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan next month when NSA Ajit Doval called on him in St Petersburg.
The Putin-Doval meeting came nearly three weeks after Modi travelled to Ukranian capital Kyiv and held talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Doval is in St Petersburg to attend a conclave of national security advisors of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) nations.
The summit of the grouping will be held in the Russian city of Kazan from October 22-24. Modi is set to attend the summit.
“Vladimir Putin noted the successful development of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia and stressed the importance of security issues in bilateral relations, thanking the Indian side for maintaining dialogue in this area,” a Russian readout on the Putin-Doval meeting said.
It said the Russian president proposed to hold a bilateral meeting with Modi on October 22 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to “summarise the outcomes of joint work” on the implementation of the agreements reached during the Indian leader’s visit to Moscow and to outline prospects for the near future.
Modi visited Russia in July.
“We are waiting for our good friend Modi and best regards to him,” the Russian media quoted Putin as saying in the meeting with Doval.
On Wednesday, the NSA held wide-ranging talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu focusing on important issues of “mutual interests”.
“Both sides reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and discussed important issues of mutual interest,” the Indian embassy in Russia said on the talks between Doval and Shoigu. (PTI)
