Russian President Putin likely to visit India next year

Russian President Vladimir Putin may visit India next year as part of a laid down structure between the two countries for reciprocal annual visits by their leaders, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.

The two sides were looking at the possibility of the visit but nothing has been finalised yet, they said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the Russian President to visit India when the two leaders held talks in Moscow in July.

Earlier on Tuesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in a video interaction with senior Indian Editors, referred to the strong bilateral relationship between India and Russia, and added Putin's visit was on the cards. He did not give any specific dates or make a definitive announcement of the visit.

Prime Minister Modi visited Kazan in Russia last month to attend the BRICS summit.

The interaction was organised by state-owned Sputnik news agency.

“We are looking forward to the visit. The dates will be mutually worked out soon,” Peskov said.