Prime Minister Narendra Modi dialled Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday and invited him to visit India for bilateral talks later this year. The Putin-Modi call comes amid US President Donald Trump's tariffs on India over its ties with Russia.
"Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine. We also reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership," Prime Minister Modi said in a post on X.
The Ministry of External Affairs said the prime minister reiterated India’s consistent position of peaceful resolution for the Russia-Ukraine conflict during the call. Modi also invited Putin to India later this year for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.
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The Modi-Putin call came following National Security Advisor Ajit Doval's recent visit to Russia and amid tariff threats from the United States over India-Russia ties. US President Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India imports over its purchase of Russian oil and defence equipment. Trump charged that India's oil purchase was fuelling Russia's war against Ukraine.
India has longstanding ties with Russia. People familiar with Doval's visit to Moscow told PTI that bilateral energy and defence ties, as well as western sanctions on Russian crude oil, figured in his talks with Russian officials.
Russia has emerged as India's top energy supplier since the West slapped sanctions on its crude oil after the invasion of Ukraine. The NSA was also expected to press Moscow to ensure early delivery of remaining two regiments of S-400 air defence systems to India.
