Ready to Contribute: Russia Reaffirms Support For India-China Relations

New Delhi: Russian President’s Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, on Tuesday reiterated Moscow’s commitment to supporting efforts to normalise relations between India and China. “We are ready to contribute in every possible way to normalising relations between both nations,” Peskov said.

While speaking to ANI, Peskov emphasized Russia’s neutral stance and highlighted its role as a host during the recent bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Kazan, Russia.

“We are glad that the two leaders had the opportunity to hold their bilateral meeting in Kazan. This was really good news for everybody in the world. But again, this was a bilateral initiative of India and China, with no interference from abroad, from us. So we were only the organisers of that summit,” he explained.

“Of course, being friends of New Delhi and Beijing, we are ready to contribute in every possible way to normalising relations between our two friends,” he said.

Further, Peskov confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India is being planned, with dates currently being finalized. “I hope soon we’ll work out the precise dates of his visit… Of course, after two visits of Prime Minister Modi to Russia, now we have a visit of President to India, so we’re looking forward to it,” Peskov said.

This visit will mark Putin’s first trip to India since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began in 2022.

Recently, Prime Minister Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan in October. PM Modi invited Putin to visit India next year for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.

The two leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including political, economic, defence, energy, and people-to-people ties, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a press release.

In a post on X, PM Modi stated, “Had an excellent meeting with President Putin. The bond between India and Russia is deep-rooted. Our talks focussed on how to add even more vigour to our bilateral partnership across diverse sectors.”

This visit marked PM Modi’s second visit to Russia this year, as he visited Moscow in July for the annual India-Russia Summit. India and Russia share a long-standing relationship, with cooperation in key areas such as defence, energy, and trade.