Russian President Putin Holds Informal Talks with Indian Prime Minister Modi in Moscow

Starting off a two-day visit to Moscow on July 8, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat down to tea with Russian President Vladimir Putin, at his Moscow residence in the Novo-Ogaryovo district. The two then had a private dinner where they continued their discussions. Prior to coming to Moscow, Modi tweeted that the purpose of the visit was to strengthen relations between the two nations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that the informal talks would also be substantive. The two leaders will talk “with a free agenda one-on-one,” he said. Formal negotiations will be held tomorrow, both in a narrow and in an expanded format. “Today there will be part of the substantive informal communication, and tomorrow there will be part of the official visit—the official talks themselves,” said Peskov. There will be an official breakfast and then discussions, after which Putin and Modi will host the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit. One of the main purposes is to develop an easier mechanism for transferring funds between the two countries, such as using the Indian payment system “RuPay” in Russia, and “Mir” in India, due to the need for faster payments.