Putin, Modi to hold both private, extended talks on Tuesday: Kremlin

President Vladimir Putin will hold extensive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday both oneonone and with delegations a top Russian official said on MondayAround noon Putin and Modi will start talking We expect that there will be a private conversation as well as RussianIndian talks over an official breakfastrdquo Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the stateowned TASS news agencyOn Tuesday Modi will cochair the 22nd IndiaRussia annual summit with President PutinThe two leaders however will not make any statements to the press afterwards the Kremlin spokesman addedNo joint communication with the media is foreseen he said But we expect an extended exchange of views at both the private and extended sessions which will largely compensate for the lack of statements to the media Although the economic agenda will take a principal position at the summit Prime Minister Modi is likely to convey to President Putin that a solution cant be found on the battlefield regarding the ongoing conflict with Ukraine sources saidSolution cant be found on the battlefield This is also based on interactions especially with the global south an official source said regarding the UkraineRussia conflict emphasizing that this view is likely to be conveyed during the summitSources underlined that India has held this point of view right from the beginning Prime Minister Modi will hold inperson meetings with President Putin for 89 hours during his nearly 24hour stay in Russia they saidSources emphasized that the economic agenda is the principal agenda of the summit The Indian side has come up with specific ideas to narrow the trade imbalance which has risen due to a significant increase in energy imports from Russia over the last two yearsThere is a set of things we have identified across a range of areas such as consumables pharmaceuticals consumer goods etc Even services and a few things in the digital space we can offer Each one of these is a very significant idea and they will come up in discussions a source explainedSpeaking about the Indians recruited for the RussiaUkraine conflict sources said that India will raise the issue in the strongest termsWe want the expeditious discharge of Indians fighting in the Ukrainian conflict from the Russian military a source saidAt least four Indians have been killed so far and about 3550 recruits are believed to be in the Army sources saidTen Indians have been allowed to return from the conflictPrime Minister Modi will be conferred with Russias highest state decoration the Order of St Andrew on Tuesday It was announced in 2019Speaking about Putin and Modirsquos expected informal meeting later this evening the Kremlin spokesman did not clarify where exactly it will take place He also did not mention Ukraine in the upcoming talksBefore the meeting takes place it is hardly possible to talk about it We will keep you informed on all the detailsrdquo the Kremlin spokesman saidToday the leaders will speak informally and the official part of the visit official talks will take place tomorrow he saidWhen asked whether Moscow has prepared any surprises for the Indian leader the Kremlin spokesman said Our task is not to prepare surprises but to create an atmosphere for a substantive conversation PM Modi arrived here on Monday on his first trip to Russia since the start of Moscows invasion of UkraineThe focus of the 22nd IndiaRussia annual summit is likely to be boosting bilateral cooperation in the areas of energy security trade investment and peopletopeople exchanges The Ukraine conflict is set to figure in the discussionsIt is Modis first trip to Russia since 2019 the first after the start of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022 and the first in Modis third term as the prime ministerThe annual summit between the prime minister of India and the president of Russia is the highest institutional dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two countriesThe annual summits are held alternatively in India and RussiaThe last summit was held on December 6 2021 in New Delhi President Putin had visited India to attend the summitThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever