Putin-Modi talk in the new year

Tribune News Service 
New Delhi, January 7

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday held a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This is the first conversation in the New Year and focused mainly on bilateral cooperation, including in defence and counter-terrorism and current international issues.

Both leaders decided to sustain the political momentum in ties following the informal summit in Sochi last year which was aimed at arresting a perceptible drift in bilateral relations. 

“The leaders confirmed their mutual willingness to increase cooperation in fighting against international terrorism and solving other pressing world issues,” said an official Russian statement. 

As India now gears up for the 2019 electoral battle, “Putin wished Narendra Modi success in connection with the upcoming parliamentary elections in India”, added the statement. President Putin also reiterated his invitation to Modi to attend the annual Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in September 2019. He had earlier extended the invitation during his visit to Delhi in October for the annual India-Russia summit. 

“Both leaders agreed that India-Russia cooperation plays an important role in the global multilateral order. Both countries, therefore, will continue their close consultations in the United Nations, the BRICS, the SCO and other multilateral organizations,” the statement said.