Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India later this year, Interfax news agency quoted National Security Adviser Ajit Doval as saying in Moscow on Thursday.
Currently, Doval is in Moscow with an aim of expanding defence ties between the two nations.
Putin’s visit would come in the wake of tumultuous relations between India and the United States over the unjustified tariff imposed on New Delhi on the pretext of buying crude oil from Russia.
Ties between the United States under a quixotic President Donald Trump and Moscow are at an all-time low, with Trump castigating Putin for prolonging the war with Ukraine.
Trump has recently penalised India with a 50 per cent tariff for its trade with Russia, a move that has created a huge row in the corridors of power in New Delhi.
Amid this turmoil, Putin’s India visit in all possibilities will further add to Trump’s angst.
The US has also warned that buyers of Russian oil could face secondary sanctions unless Moscow agrees to halt the war in Ukraine, now entering its fourth year, by Friday.
This will be Putin’s first visit to India since the beginning of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in 2022.
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Putin met twice, with Modi visiting Moscow in July to attend the 22nd India-Russia summit. The trip marked Modi’s first bilateral visit since beginning his third term in office.
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During the visit, he was also awarded Russia’s highest civilian honour, the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, in recognition of his efforts to strengthen India-Russia relations.
The two leaders later met in October, when PM Modi visited Russia’s Kazan for a two-day visit to attend the BRICS Summit.
