Hope to see PM Modi soon as we planned: Putin tells Jaishankar

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar shake hands during their meeting at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, on August 24, 2026. | Photo Credit: AP Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday (August 24, 2026) said that he plans to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to be held at Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. He made the remarks at the meeting with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who called on Mr. Putin in the Kremlin.“At the beginning of our conversation, I would like to ask you to convey my very best wishes to Mr. Modi. I hope to see him soon, as we planned, as part of our work within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation,” said President Putin, further clarifying that he is expecting to meet Mr. Modi for the annual summit to be held later this year. He said “it looks like our schedules may also allow us to meet again this year”.At the meeting in Kremlin, Mr. Jaishankar briefed the Russian President about his meetings in Moscow and said: “Prime Minister Modi looks forward to meeting you at the SCO summit, then welcoming you to India for the BRICS Summit, and, in due course, as per your mutual convenience, having the annual summit, so we have a very strong picture of cooperation to present.”Mr. Jaishankar handed over a personal message from the Prime Minister to Mr. Putin.The External Affairs Minister also co-chaired the 27th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation with First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. “Our discussions focused on our wide-ranging cooperation in trade, investments, energy, fertilisers, nuclear, connectivity, technology, space and mobility domains,” said Mr. Jaishankar after the meeting with Mr. Manturov and his team. He said that bilateral India-Russia trade should aim to touch U.S. $100 billion by 2030 but cautioned against growing imbalance in bilateral trade.“Progress on market access, removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, strengthening payment mechanisms, and stronger business-to-business engagement will be critical for addressing this imbalance and achieving our shared objective of US $100 billion in bilateral trade by 2030,” said Mr. Jaishankar, calling for growing engagement between Indian and Russian businesses. He referred to the “complicated international scenario” as a window for new opportunities and “de-risking”. Published - August 24, 2026 06:15 pm IST