Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit and is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal welcomed the Russian President in a post on X.
“Warmly welcome President Vladimir Putin of Russia for the 18th BRICS Summit. He was received by MoS @KVSinghMPGonda at the airport. India and Russia share multifaceted and longstanding ties anchored in Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,” Jaiswal said.
Putin was received at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh.
The Russian President’s visit comes amid continued high-level engagement between New Delhi and Moscow and follows his meeting with PM Modi on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek last week.
During their meeting in Bishkek, PM Modi had called for an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying the world needs to move from an “endless war” towards the “end of war”.
“We have to move from a situation of ‘endless war’ to ‘end of war’… It is humanity’s wish that the end of this war happens as soon as possible,” PM Modi had said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, speaking to Indian media persons ahead of Putin’s visit, had said the two leaders would discuss bilateral relations as well as ongoing international issues. He also indicated that Putin would brief PM Modi on the latest developments concerning the Ukraine conflict.
India, as BRICS Chair for 2026, is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12-13. The summit will bring together leaders of BRICS member and partner countries as well as Outreach Invitees.
According to the MEA, leaders at the summit will exchange views on strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation on common priorities and share perspectives on global and regional issues of mutual importance.
Putin’s arrival in New Delhi marks an important engagement between the two countries as India prepares to host the high-level BRICS gathering, with his meeting with PM Modi expected to further shape discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues.
-IANS
