Putin, Modi meet ahead of official talks in Moscow

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Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a friendly tea session at Putin’s residence in Novo-Ogaryovo near Moscow, setting the stage for their official talks scheduled for Tuesday.

In an atmosphere described as cordial, Putin welcomed Modi and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to meet him and discuss issues informally ahead of their formal talks the following day.

He congratulated Modi on his recent re-election, hailing his leadership and achievements in serving the interests of the Indian people.

“Hello again. I am very glad to see you. Our official talks will take place tomorrow, but today we can have a relaxed conversation on the same topics, but in an informal manner,” Putin said.

During their conversation, Putin mentioned India’s status as the world’s largest democracy and hailed the country’s high birth rate as a sign of stability and confidence among its people.

In response, Modi thanked Putin for his warm words and engaging programme, while mentioning the importance of the recent elections in India.

“India is the largest democracy. It is considered the mother of democracy. For the first time in 65 years, the government has been elected for a third consecutive term. The people of India have given me this opportunity to serve my country. I am confident that in this third term, I will work three times harder,” Modi added.

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Earlier on Monday, Modi arrived at Moscow’s Vnukovo-2 airport, where he was greeted by Russian officials including First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko.

Modi’s visit to Russia, his first in five years, extends until July 9 and underlines the strong strategic partnership between India and Russia.

This partnership has expanded over the past decade to include areas such as energy, security, trade, investment, health, education, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

Formal discussions are scheduled for Tuesday, with a small group discussion and a formal dialogue breakfast.

Although no joint press releases are planned, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that in-depth discussions at these meetings would help to effectively convey their results.

Tomorrow, Modi is scheduled to meet the Indian community in Russia, pay homage at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and visit the Rosatom pavilion at an exhibition in Moscow.

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