Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit India soon, says NSA Ajit Doval

Russia's President Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India this year, Interfax news agency quoted India's national security adviser Ajit Doval as saying in Moscow on Thursday.

Currently, Doval is in Moscow with an aim of expanding defence ties between the two nations

While the dates are yet to be finalised, Russian state news agency Sputnik reported that the visit is likely to take place in late August.

“We have got a special, long relationship and we value this relationship. We have had high-level engagement and these high-level engagements have contributed very substantially. We are very excited and delighted to learn about the visit of President Putin to India. I think the dates are almost finalised now,” NSA Ajit Doval said.

#WATCH | Moscow, Russia: NSA Ajit Doval says, "...We are very excited and delighted to learn about the visit of President Putin to India. I think that the dates are almost finalised now..." "You have very rightly mentioned that we have a very special relationship, long… pic.twitter.com/BmTsxTNIlN

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— ANI (@ANI) August 7, 2025

The visit comes amid heightened tensions between New Delhi and Washington after former US President Donald Trump signed a fresh executive order on Wednesday, imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India. “I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” Trump said in an executive order.

The new tariffs bring the total US import duty on Indian goods to a hefty 50%, sparking concerns of an emerging trade war between the two strategic partners.

While India has emerged as a key partner for Washington in its strategic rivalry with China in recent years, its large US trade surplus and close relations with Russia has reportedly made New Delhi a prime target in the Republican president's global tariff offensive.

Earlier on Thursday, the Kremlin said  a meeting in the coming days between Putin and Trump has been agreed on.

Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov said the two sides are working on setting it up, and that a venue for the meeting has been agreed on and will be announced later.

A meeting between Putin and Trump would be their first since Trump returned to office this year. It would be a significant milestone in the more than 3-year-old war, though there's no promise such a meeting would lead to the end of the fighting, since Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on their demands.

Russian stocks surged on Thursday after the Kremlin announced meeting of the presidents.

The Moscow Exchange (MOEX) Index, which tracks 40 of the country’s largest publicly traded companies, jumped more than 5% by midday Moscow Time, reaching around 2,905 points — its highest level in two months.

The rally marks the strongest single-day gain since February 13, when Putin and Trump held their first phone call after the US President's January inauguration.

This will be Putin’s first visit to India since the beginning of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in 2022.

Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Putin met twice.  PM Modi visited Moscow in July to attend the 22nd India-Russia summit. The trip marked PM Modi’s first bilateral visit since beginning his third term in office.