Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit India soon, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval said on Thursday. Doval, who is in Moscow, said the dates of the visit are not finalised yet, but Interfax news agency reported it’s likely to take place in late August.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions between New Delhi and Washington over India’s trade relations with Russia. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a new executive order, imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India over New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
US has also threatened to hit purchasers of Russian oil with secondary tariffs unless Moscow agrees to pause the war in Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year, by Friday.
The Kremlin said Thursday said Putin is also scheduled to meet Trump in the coming days. The Russian President’s Foreign Affairs Adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said the two sides are working on setting up a meeting, and that a venue for the meeting has been agreed on and will be announced later.
