External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar told Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Moscow that Prime Minister Narendra Modi looked forward to visiting Russia next year.

His statement came after Mr Putin expressed the hope that the Indian leader would be able to visit Moscow despite his ”busy political schedule’’, alluding to the Lok Sabha polls in India next year.

Dr Jaishankar called on Putin on Wednesday evening in the Kremlin and handed over a personal message and warm greetings to Prime Minister Modi .

“Prime Minister Modi looks forward to visiting Russia next year, and I am sure that we will find a date which is mutually convenient for the political calendar of both countries. So it is certainly something that he looks forward to,‘’ Dr Jaishankar said.

The Russian President said, ‘’We will be glad to see our dear friend, Prime Minister Modi paying a visit to Russia…Please tell him that we expect him here. I know that India, next year will have a busy political schedule (general elections). We wish our friends success in that.”

The Indian minister said India and Russia have made great progress in trade, which is more than a turnover of USD 50 billion while Mr Putin said ‘’despite the current turbulence in the world’’, relations with India and its people were making steady headway.

‘’I would like you to highlight the progress we have made in trade, which is more than a turnover of $50 billion,’’ Dr Jaishankar said, adding he believed that this was something whose potential was now only beginning to be visible. ‘’We must give it a more sustainable character, and we discussed how we should do that.”

During the meeting, Mr Putin said despite all the turmoil happening worldwide,’’ the relationship with our true friends in Asia-India has been progressing incrementally’’.

He said “We know the position of Prime Minister Modi and have talked about this more than once. I am referring to his position, his attitude to complicated processes, including hot spots, and the situation in Ukraine. I have repeatedly informed him about the situation around this conflict. I know about his striving to resolve this problem through peaceful means.’’

Mr Putin said trade between the two countries was growing for the second year running and at a confident pace. ‘’This year, the growth rates were even higher than last year. We are working together in high-tech areas, and we are very pleased to note that despite the current turbulence in the world, relations with our traditional friends in Asia, with India and the Indian people are making steady headway.”

He pointed out that PM Modi was “willing to do his utmost” to resolve the Russia-Ukraine issue by “peaceful means”.