PM Modi to visit Moscow: India may open two consulates in Russia

PM Modi Russia visit: The final announcement of the new consulates is expected to be made at the annual summit next week.

India could open two more consulates in Russia, apart from the current St Petersburg and Vladivostok. This comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Moscor on July 8-9. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, where they also discussed the preparations of PM Modi’s visit. The ministers also discussed the possibility of opening two more Indian consulates in Russia. The final announcement of the new consulates is expected to be made at the annual summit next week, as per a report in The Economic Times. During his two-day visit, Modi is expected to receive Russia’s highest state honour, Order of St Andrew the Apostle, at the Kremlin. This award was announced in 2019 for Modi for promoting bilateral special and privileged strategic partnership. The award is conferred on 18 distinguished personalities since 1998. Meanwhile, Jaishankar who met Lavrov on Wednesday, also raised the issue of the Indians fighting for the Russian Army and for their safe return. India has also demanded for a “verified stop to any further recruitment of Indian nationals” by the Russian Army and that such activities would not be in “consonance” with the relationship between the two nations. They also discussed the global strategic landscape and exchanged assessments and views. Jaishankar, moreover, paid homage to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Pushkin Park in the Kazakh capital.