Modi to meet Putin on Thursday to patch up Indo-Russian ties

The Dollar Business Bureau

Prime Minister Modi is on his 6 day tour of 4 nations. On Thursday he is likely to meet President Vladimir Putin seeking to rejuvenate the friendship that India shared with Moscow sometime back.

Both the leaders are actively looking to revive the slagging trade between the two countries and resolve the differences over their recent change in global alliances when they meet ahead of a summit in St Petersburg on Thursday.

India was a close ally of Russia during the Cold War and Russia was India's largest trading partner, largest arms supplier, providing everything and anything to do with India's defence needs.

The relationship underwent a transformation with the collapse of the USSR and India favouring the West to increase its economy. Russia turned its interests towards India's two major rivals in the region, China and Pakistan while India inched closer towards Washington. Though Russia remains a major ally for India, the foundation of friendship got diluted through the years.

Prime Minister Modi is making an effort to revive the bilateral trade between the two countries which has decreased to below $8 billion in 2015 and also furthering an agreement with Moscow for the supply of nuclear reactors needed for a nuclear plant in Tamilnadu.

Russia's increased interest in Pakistan and its acknowledgment to support the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has not gone down well with India. The PrimeMinister is attempting to make Russia understand that New Delhi brokers peace and shall continue to be a strong ally of Russia in the years to come.