
Russian President Putin accepts invite to visit India, Foreign Minister Lavrov says preparation on
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit India, as confirmed by Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, Russian news agency TASS reported.
While addressing the "Russia and India: Toward a New Bilateral Agenda" conference through a video, Lavrov said that India is currently making arrangements for the visit of the Russian President. The conference is jointly hosted by the Embassy of India in Russia and the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC).
The Russian Foreign Minister stated that Putin will be visiting India following the invitation from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who made his first foreign visit to Russia following re-election in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
"[Russian] President Vladimir Putin has accepted an invitation to visit from the Indian head of government. A visit by the Russian head of state to the Republic of India is currently being prepared," Lavrov said as quoted by Russian News Agency Tass.
Last year in July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia on the invitation of Russian President Putin to attend the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.
Earlier in February, TASS reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Russia for the May 9 parade at Moscow's Red Square to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic Wa.
As per the military source cited by TASS, the visit by the PM has a "high probability".
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning a visit to the May 9 parade in Moscow. It is highly likely that it will take place," the agency's source said, TASS reported.
As per the military source cited by TASS, it was noted, "The issue of participation in the parade on Red Square of a ceremonial unit of the Indian armed forces, which should arrive at least a month [before the parade] for rehearsals, is also being worked out."
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Observer
16 hours ago
- Observer
Russia launches strike in east Ukraine amid stalled peace talks
KHARKIV: Fresh Russian strikes on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv killed three people and wounded 60 others, including children, on Wednesday, authorities said, as Moscow pushed ahead with attacks after rejecting an unconditional ceasefire. Ukraine said it had received the bodies of more than 1,200 soldiers, handed over by Moscow, part of a repatriation deal the two sides agreed at talks last week. Russia has fired record numbers of drones and missiles at Ukraine over recent weeks, escalating three years of daily bombardments as it outlines hardline demands — rejected by Kyiv as "ultimatums" — to halt its three-year attack. The northeastern city of Kharkiv, just 30 kilometres from the Russian border, again bore the brunt of the attack. "Seventeen strikes by enemy UAVs (drones) were carried out in two districts of the city tonight," Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov said on Telegram. Kharkiv regional Governor Oleg Synegubov said three people had been killed. "Every new day now brings new cowardly strikes from Russia, and almost every strike is demonstrative. Russia deserves increased pressure," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media after the shelling of Kharkiv. Journalists in the city saw damaged apartment blocks, burnt out cars and streets strewn with debris after the attacks. Ukraine's air force said that Russia had fired 85 drones overnight — fewer than in recent days. On the front line, Moscow's troops have been advancing steadily. The Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday that more units had crossed into the Dnipropetrovsk region. US President Donald Trump has been urging the two sides to strike a peace deal, but has seen little progress. Zelensky has in turn called on the West to increase the pressure on Russia with hard-hitting economic sanctions that he says would limit its capacity to wage war. He is expected to press that message with Trump and European leaders at a G7 summit in Canada, which kicks off on Sunday. Leaders from several countries across southeastern Europe were expected in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Wednesday, hours after it was targeted by Russian strikes. Two rounds of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have failed to yield a breakthrough in ending the war. Russia has rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire and demanded that Ukraine give up large swathes of territory and its bid to join Nato. But the two sides agreed to swap more than 1,000 prisoners of war and hand over the bodies of dead soldiers. Ukraine said on Wednesday that Russia had handed over the corpses of 1,212 killed soldiers and was working to identify them. Russia's top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, confirmed the handover and said Russia had received "the remains of 27 Russian soldiers." Ukraine did not say how many bodies it returned to Russia, which says Western estimates of the number of its deaths are untrue.


Observer
2 days ago
- Observer
Russia, Ukraine complete second round POWs swap
KYIV: Russia and Ukraine said on Tuesday they had exchanged captured soldiers, the second stage of an agreement struck at peace talks last week for each side to free more than 1,000 prisoners. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday's exchange saw "the return of our injured and severely wounded warriors from Russian captivity." Neither side said how many soldiers had been freed in the swap — the second in as many days following another exchange on Monday. The two sides had agreed in Istanbul last week to release all wounded soldiers and all under the age of 25. Russia's defence ministry said: "In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached on June 2 in Istanbul, the second group of Russian servicemen was returned." Zelensky said further exchanges would follow. "The exchanges are to continue. We are doing everything we can to find and return every single person who is in captivity." The agreement had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, with both sides trading accusations of attempting to thwart the exchange. — AFP


Observer
3 days ago
- Observer
Russia, Ukraine swap first prisoners in large-scale exchange
KYIV: Russia and Ukraine on Monday swapped a first group of captured soldiers — part of an agreement reached during peace talks that appeared to be in doubt over the weekend. The deal to exchange prisoners of war and repatriate the bodies of killed fighters was the only concrete agreement reached at the talks, which have failed to lead to a breakthrough towards ending the three-year war. Progress has stalled. Russia has issued tough conditions for halting its attack and has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire. "Today an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. He posted images of soldiers draped in Ukrainian flags, cheering and hugging. "Among those we are bringing back now are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those under the age of 25," he added. Russia's defence ministry also confirmed the swap was part of "agreements reached on June 2 in Istanbul". Neither side said how many prisoners were released. After the talks in Istanbul, both said it would involve more than 1,000 captured soldiers, making it the largest exchange of the three-year war. Police experts work at the site of the Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia. — Reuters The swap itself had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, when Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of delaying and thwarting the planned exchange. Zelensky accused Russia on Sunday of playing a "dirty, political game" and of not sticking to the agreed parameters — to free all captured soldiers that are sick, wounded or under the age of 25. Russia said Kyiv was refusing to take back bodies of dead soldiers, 1,200 of which it said were waiting in refrigerated trucks near the border. Pressed by US President Donald Trump to end the conflict, the two sides have opened direct negotiations for the first time in more than three years in search of an agreement. But they appear as far apart as ever from an agreement. In Istanbul on June 2, Russia demanded Ukraine withdraw its forces from areas still under its control, recognise Moscow's annexation of five Ukrainian regions and renounce all Western military support. Kyiv is seeking a full ceasefire and a summit between Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump to try to break the impasse. While welcoming POW exchanges, Zelensky said last week said it was "pointless" to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation since they could not agree to a ceasefire. Prisoners of war (POWs) are seen after a swap, at an unknown location in Ukraine. — Reuters Meanwhile fighting on the front lines and in the skies has intensified. Russia said on Sunday its troops had crossed into Ukraine's industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its campaign — a potentially key advance given that Moscow has not put forward a territorial claim to that region. And Moscow launched a record 479 drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv's air force said on Monday. The Ukrainian mayor of the western city of Rivne, Oleksandr Tretyak, called it "the largest attack" on the region since the start of the war. Russia said it had targeted an airfield near the village of Dubno in the Rivne region. 70 buildings — including private houses and a nursery — were damaged in the attack. It called the attack "one of the retaliatory strikes" for a brazen drone attack by Ukraine on June 1 against Russian military jets stationed at air bases thousands of kilometres behind the front line. Kyiv also claimed responsibility for an attack on a Russian electronics factory overnight, saying it manufactured parts for drones. Russian officials said the site had been forced to temporarily suspend production after a Ukrainian drone attack. Moscow said Monday its strikes are continued retaliation for a bold Ukrainian attack on its bomber planes parked deep inside Russia, including in Siberia, that infuriated the Kremlin. Russia said it had targeted an airfield near the village of Dubno in the Rivne region. "This is one of the retaliatory strikes against terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime on Russian military airfields," its defence ministry said. — AFP