The Russian president received Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar at the Kremlin on Thursday

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to travel to India by the end of this year for an annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Thursday.

He made the remarks while speaking at a press conference alongside Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, who was in Moscow for an official visit. Later in the day, Putin received Jaishankar at the Kremlin.

The upcoming summit between the Indian and Russian leaders is expected to strengthen bilateral relations against the backdrop of complex geopolitical developments, the foreign ministers noted.

"Today we discussed upcoming events within the framework of this dialogue, including preparations for the visit of the Russian president to India by the end of this year," Lavrov said. "We have plans to prepare a solid package of documents for this summit," he added.

Russia's top diplomat also noted that last year bilateral trade increased by 15%, setting "an absolute record in the post-Soviet history of relations between Moscow and New Delhi."

Speaking to reporters in Moscow, Jaishankar emphasized the expanding economic partnership between the two countries and their "shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner."

On Wednesday, he co-chaired the 26th Intergovernmental Commission on cooperation along with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. India's top diplomat described the meeting as "very productive."

"We discussed a lot of issues in our bilateral cooperation and found a lot of solutions as well," he said.

Jaishankar also announced that India and the five-nation Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) have signed terms of reference to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement. Established in 2015, the EAEU comprises Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The Indian foreign minister's visit comes in the wake of US-India tensions over New Delhi's ties with Moscow. Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25% "punitive" tariff on India - set to take effect on August 27 - over its continued purchase of Russian oil. India has strongly condemned the tariffs as "unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable," and has vowed to protect its interests. Speaking in Moscow on Thursday, Jaishankar said India is "perplexed" by the logic of the measures imposed by the US. Russian officials confirmed that the energy trade with New Delhi hasn't stopped.

(RT.com)