MOSCOW — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Moscow on Monday for a two-day visit, his first since Russia sent troops into Ukraine, complicating the relationship between the longtime partners and pushing Russia closer to India’s rival, China.
Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin at his residence outside Moscow, to be followed by talks at the Kremlin on Tuesday. Modi last traveled to Russia in 2019, when he attended a forum in the far eastern port of Vladivostok and met with Putin. The leaders also saw each other in September 2022 in Uzbekistan, at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization bloc.
Modi posted photos of his arrival in Moscow on the social media platform X, in both Russian and English, saying he was “looking forward to further deepening the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between our nations.”
“Stronger ties between our nations will greatly benefit our people,” he wrote, also sharing a picture of himself and Putin hugging.
Later, the two leaders were pictured in videos shared by the Kremlin at Putin’s residence, Novo-Ogaryovo, near Moscow.
Putin drove Modi around the grounds in a buggy and showed him his stable with horses. According to state news agencies, the two had earlier watched a horse show with performers in national Russian dress.
Modi thanked Putin on X for hosting him at Novo-Ogaryovo and said he was looking forward to Tuesday’s talks which he hoped will “go a…
