Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Moscow next week where he will likely bring the issue of Indian nationals being misled to fight in the Ukraine war for Russia, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said. PM Modi will be on an official visit to Moscow from July 8 to 9, 2024 to attend the 22nd Annual India-Russia Summit at the invitation of President Putin.
India has been flagging the issue of Indian nationals getting duped in Russia where they are being offered lucrative job offers and educational prospects only to find themselves on the battlefield fighting against Ukraine.
In May 2024, the police arrested four people linked with a traffic network that reportedly ran this operation. In February 2024, India advised its citizens to avoid getting engaged in war between Russia and Ukraine after reports suggested that several Indians signed up for support jobs with the Russian Army.
A 23-year-old man hailing from Gujarat reportedly died in a Ukrainian airstrike in Donetsk on February 21, 2024. According to an Indian media agency, Hemil Ashvinbhai Mangukiya was employed by the Russian Army as a security helper in December 2023. Many of these Indians are from states like Karnataka, Telangana, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Modi and Russian President Putin will discuss issues of regional and global interests when they meet next week said Kwatra. They will discuss bilateral ties including matters related to defence, investment, education, culture and people to people ties, he said. Adding further, he said that the annual India-Russia Summitt is taking place after three years and “we attach great importance to it.”
PM Modi will be travelling to Russia for the first time in four years. His last trip was in 2019. Meanwhile the summit is happening after a hiatus of three years which makes Modi’s visit very important, the foreign secretary said. PM Modi is scheduled to arrive in Moscow in the late afternoon of July 8, 2024. President Putin will host private dinner for the PM on the day of arrival.
The next day, the PM’s interactions would include an interface with the Indian community in Russia. He will also lay a wreath at the “Tomb of the Unkwonwn Soldier” at the Kremlin and there after the PM will visit the exhibition venue in Moscow.
These engagements will be followed by a restricted level talk between the two leaders which will then be followed by delegation level talks led by the Prime Minister and Russian President. After his trip to Russia, Modi will travel to Austria on July 9 and 10. This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to that country in 41 years.
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