New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin may visit India next year as part of a laid down structure between the two countries for reciprocal annual visits by their leaders, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
The two sides are looking at the possibility of the visit but nothing has been finalised yet, they said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the Russian President to visit India when the two leaders held summit talks in Moscow in July.
Earlier Tuesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov in a video interaction with senior Indian Editors referred to the strong bilateral relationship between India and Russia, and added Putin’s visit is on the cards. He did not give any specific dates or make a definitive announcement of the visit.
Prime Minister Modi visited Kazan in Russia last month to attend the BRICS summit.
The interaction was organised by the Russian state-owned Sputnik news agency.
“We are looking forward to the visit. The dates will be mutually worked out soon,” Peskov said.
Asked to comment on US President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied longer-range missiles, Peskov warned it will add fuel to the conflict and escalate the war.
Peskov’s comments came on a day when President Putin signed a revised nuclear doctrine declaring that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country.
Putin’s endorsement of the new nuclear deterrent policy comes on the 1,000th day after he sent troops into Ukraine on Feb 24, 2022.
