Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in Kazan on Tuesday (October 22) within the framework of the BRICS summit. During the meeting, Putin forgot about interpreters and kept speaking in Russian. Soon he made a pause and joked: 'Our relations are so good, I thought you understand everything (without translation).'
Notably, the leaders met for the second time in the past three months. Both nuclear state leaders also had multiple phone calls, where they discussed the ongoing war in Ukraine and ways to foster a bilateral relationship. "I express my heartfelt gratitude for your friendship, warm welcome and hospitality. It is a matter of great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to visit a beautiful city like Kazan for the BRICS Summit. The opening of India's new consulate in Kazan will further strengthen these ties," PM Modi said during the meeting.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi arrived in Kazan earlier on Tuesday. Modi was welcomed at the airport by the Indian officials and the head of the Russian Tatarstan Republic Rustam Minnikhanov. Women in national attire offered him traditional bread and salt as well as the local sweet treat Chak-Chak.
MOMENT: Putin jokes he and Modi can understand each other without translation
Russia will host a summit of the group in the city of Kazan on October 22-24. The diplomatic forum was founded 15 years ago by major emerging markets Brazil, Russia, India, and China and has since expanded to include South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
India is ready to provide all possible cooperation in times to come: PM Modi
Later in the meeting, the Prime Minister said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict should be resolved in a peaceful manner and India is ready to provide all possible cooperation towards it. PM Modi held bilateral talks with Putin hours after arriving in this central Russian city to attend the 16th BRICS summit.
In his televised opening remarks, the prime minister conveyed to the Russian leader that New Delhi "fully supports" the early return of peace and stability in the region. PM Modi also said that his second visit to Russia in the last three months reflected "close" coordination and deep trust between the two countries.
"We are in constant touch on the issue of ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. As I said earlier, we believe that problems should be resolved in a peaceful manner," the prime minister said. "We fully support the early return of peace and stability. All our efforts give priority to humanity. India is ready to provide all possible cooperation in times to come," he said. "We have the opportunity to discuss all these issues," he added.
The prime minister also referred to his summit talks with Putin in Moscow in July. Our annual summit resulted in strengthening cooperation in every field, he said. The prime minister congratulated Putin on Russia's successful presidency of BRICS and said many countries want to join the grouping now.
(With inputs from agencies)
