Preparations for PM Modi's 'important' visit to Russia in final stages: Kremlin spokesman

Moscow: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said that preparations for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia are in the "final stages", and the dates will be announced soon.

"We will announce this visit officially a little later, by agreement with our Indian friends. I can only confirm to you once again that the visit is in the final stage of preparation," Peskov was quoted as saying by local media during a Press briefing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's Press Secretary also stated that PM Modi's visit, widely expected to be around July 8, is a "very important" event.

In New York on Monday, the first day of the Russian Presidency at the UN Security Council, Russia's Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia highlighted the special privileged strategic partnership between the two countries and asserted that "serious messages" will come out of PM Modi's visit to Moscow.

"India is a longtime friend of Russia. We cooperate in so many areas, and I think there will be substantive conversations on the whole range of issues that our countries cooperate on," he told reporters.

"I'm not aware of what kind of documents will be the result of that visit, but I'm sure that there will be serious messages coming out of it, and, I presume, in the form of joint documents as well. I expect Russian-Indian relations to blossom even better," added the Russian diplomat.

Prime Minister Modi last visited Russia for the 20th India-Russia Bilateral Summit held on the sidelines of the 5th Eastern Economic Summit - where he was the guest of honour - at Vladivostok in September 2019.

The visit acted as a game-changer as far as India's focus on the Russian Far East was concerned and paved the way for New Delhi's larger cooperation with Moscow in the fields of oil and gas, road transport, Defence, trade and investment sectors.

PM Modi, who will not be attending the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting being held in Astana on Thursday, last paid an official visit to Moscow in 2015.