Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin. File.

| Photo Credit: PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (October 7, 2025) spoke with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and congratulated the latter on his 73rd birthday.The two leaders reviewed the progress in bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia, read a statement.Mr. Modi also conveyed to Mr. Putin that he looking forward to welcoming the Russian President to India for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.The Russian president is expected to visit India around December 5 to hold annual summit talks with Modi.The summit is expected to produce significant outcomes to further solidify bilateral strategic ties.While preparations are underway for the high-profile visit, it is not yet clear whether the Russian president will come for a day-long trip or he will be in India for two days.Ahead of Mr. Putin’s trip, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to India next month to finalise the finer details of the presidential visit.The Russian President had last visited New Delhi in 2021.The two sides are also expected to hold a meeting under the framework of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) before Mr. Putin’s trip, people familiar with the matter said.At the India-Russia annual summit, Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin are expected to deliberate on further expanding the “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership” between the two countries, they said.India and Russia have a mechanism under which India’s Prime Minister and the Russian President hold a summit meeting annually to review the entire gamut of ties.So far 22 annual summit meetings have taken place alternatively in India and Russia.In July last year, Mr. Modi travelled to Moscow for the annual summit.Russia has been a time-tested partner for India and the country has been a key pillar of New Delhi’s foreign policy.With PTI inputs Published - October 07, 2025 06:43 pm IST