CNN
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to Moscow subsequent week for the primary time since Russia invaded Ukraine, an indication of the rising relationship between the 2 international locations at the same time as New Delhi maintains robust ties with the USA.
Modi shall be in Moscow on July 8 and 9 on the invitation of President Vladimir Putin, India’s Ministry of Exterior Affairs introduced, including they might “trade views on modern regional and world problems with mutual curiosity.”
Modi’s plans for the journey have been first reported final month by Russian state media, citing Kremlin officers.
India stays closely reliant on the Kremlin for its army tools – an important hyperlink given India’s ongoing tensions at its shared Himalayan border with China – and has ramped up purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, giving Putin’s nation a significant monetary lifeline because it faces isolation from the West.
Modi’s go to is broadly seen as the most recent dent in efforts by Western leaders to forged Putin apart.
India’s ties with Russia date again a long time to the Chilly Conflict and have remained robust regardless of repeated sanctions on Moscow from Western governments.
New Delhi has repeatedly abstained from votes condemning Russia on the United Nations Safety Council and has prevented public criticism of Moscow’s struggle in Ukraine.
Affirmation of Modi’s go to comes as Russia attracts ever nearer to China, probably making New Delhi uncomfortable as a consequence of its longstanding Himalayan border dispute with Beijing that has simmered in recent times.
On Wednesday, Chinese language chief Xi Jinping and Putin hailed their two international locations’ deepening alignment at a regional safety summit in Kazakhstan, with the Russian chief claiming relations between the 2 have been going by “the very best interval of their historical past” and needs to be thought of a “stabilizing” pressure for the world.
Modi, nonetheless, was notably absent from the annual leaders’ assembly of the Shanghai Cooperation Group (SCO), a bloc of Eurasian international locations spearheaded by China and Russia that’s seen as a counterweight to Western establishments led by the US and its allies.
Some analysts considered Modi’s choice to skip the occasion as an indication the chief of the world’s largest democracy doesn’t view the bloc as an efficient channel by which New Delhi can pursue its pursuits.
Modi final met Putin on the sidelines of the 2022 SCO summit, the place he instructed the Russian chief that in the present day’s period is “not of struggle.”
But his upcoming go to to Moscow is being considered positively by the Kremlin – which has described Modi’s relationship with Putin as “very trusting” in nature – and comes as Russia goals to push again in opposition to Western efforts to isolate it on the world stage as punishment for its struggle in Ukraine.
“We are able to count on that there shall be an trade of views on all points which are on the agenda, and there are lots of of them,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned, in accordance with Russia’s state-run information company TASS on Tuesday.
Final month Putin additionally met with North Korean chief Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, the place the 2 autocrats vowed to strengthen ties and deepen their cooperation in a brand new partnership that was signed through the go to.
Moscow this 12 months has taken up the place as chair of the BRICS financial bloc, which incorporates Brazil, India, China and South Africa, offering Putin with a possibility to push again in opposition to rising Western isolation and painting himself as a key participant on a broad diplomatic stage.
However Modi’s go to is ready in opposition to the backdrop of India’s rising relations with the US, as each international locations share issues over China’s assertiveness within the Indo-Pacific area.
Modi met with US President Joe Biden throughout a state go to to Washington in June final 12 months, in a visit additional cementing their protection, commerce and expertise partnership. The Indian chief additionally addressed Congress throughout that journey, an honor usually reserved for shut US allies and companions, and attended a lavish state dinner. India is a member of the Quad safety grouping with the US, Japan and Australia.
Later that 12 months, Putin didn’t attend the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi, throughout which leaders delivered a consensus assertion criticizing his invasion of Ukraine.
Further reporting by Nectar Gan.
