Putin ‘waiting for PM Modi’ for BRICS summit, says 30 nations want to join bloc

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (Sep 12) held a meeting with Indian National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval in St Petersburg on the sidelines of the meeting of BRICS and BRICS Plus High-Level Security Officials. During the engagement, Putin told Doval that he was waiting for PM Narendra Modi’s arrival in Russia’s Kazan for the BRICS summit.

A statement from the Indian external affairs ministry said that Doval and Putin discussed the war in Ukraine and peace efforts. “NSA Doval met with President Putin. He has other engagements in Russia,” a spokesperson for the ministry said.

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Putin earlier this month had said that nations like China, India, and Brazil could act as mediators in potential peace talks over Ukraine.

Doval’s visit to Russia was discussed during PM Modi’s phone call with Putin in August, with an increased focus on the Ukraine war.

Indians fighting in Russia

The external affairs ministry spokesperson Randir Jaiswal also gave an update on Indians who were lured into fighting for Russia in the ongoing war against Ukraine.

Jaiswal said that Russia recently set free six Indians earlier caught in the conflict. The spokesperson stressed that 50 more Indians will be released very soon.

“Since the Prime Minister’s visit to Russia, 35 Indian nationals have been discharged, with 6 arriving the day before. Another 50 are yet to return. Prior to the visit, 10 had already been discharged,” Jaiswal said.

‘Dozens of countries want to join BRICS’

Putin earlier met with representatives of BRICS (an intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates) states, during which the Russian leader said more than “thirty countries" wanted to join the organisation.

This comes a week after NATO nation Turkey applied for membership of the bloc of developing nations.

(With inputs from agencies)