Modi to attend BRICS summit in Russia
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends a meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia July 9, 2024. PHOTO: REUTERS
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend this month's BRICS summit in Russia, New Delhi said Friday, weeks after his friendly hug with President Vladimir Putin drew condemnation from Ukraine.
Modi's government has longstanding ties with Moscow that have persisted despite India's courtship of closer security partnerships with Washington and other Western allies.
The balancing act has seen New Delhi avoid condemning Russia's war in Ukraine and instead propose itself as an intermediary to broker a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict.
India's foreign ministry said Modi would be in Russia on October 22 and 23 for the summit, held in the city of Kazan along the Volga river.
Modi's visit is his second to Russia this year following an earlier trip to Moscow in July.
On arrival he warmly embraced Putin, a moment Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed as a "devastating blow to peace".