Sochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Russia’s Black Sea coastal city Sochi for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin that will focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
The aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues, official sources said.
They said the two leaders will meet for around four to six hours for the “agendaless” talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be very limited.
“Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him,” Modi had tweeted yesterday.
“Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia,” Modi had tweeted.
The issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan, Syria, threat of terrorism and matters relating to upcoming SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and BRICS summits.
The two leaders may also deliberate on extending Indo-Russia civil nuclear cooperation in third countries, possible areas for cooperation for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project, India’s engagement with five-nation Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the situation in the Korean peninsula.
The sources said the large part of the informal meeting between Modi and Putin will be one-to-one and there may be limited segment for restricted delegation level discussions.
They said President Putin will to also host a lunch for Modi.
It would be Modi’s second informal summit in as many months as he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jingpin in China’s Wuhan in a similar format last month.
