NEW DELHI — National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is travelling to Russia this week against the backdrop of calls for India's possible role in finding a solution to the Ukraine conflict following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visits to Moscow and Kyiv.
Doval is visiting Russia primarily to attend a conclave of national security advisors of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) grouping that is taking place amid a renewed push for peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv to end the conflict.
NSA Doval is travelling to Russia for the BRICS meet, official sources said. He is also expected to hold talks with his Russian counterpart and is likely to discuss ways to bring peace to the region.
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Doval's visit to Russia comes two-and-half weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile trip to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
On Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, following her talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said India and China can play a role in finding a solution to the dragging conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a panel discussion at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok on Thursday, named India, Brazil and China as possible intermediaries that could play a role in resolving the conflict
"First of all, it is the Chinese People's Republic, Brazil and India -- I am in contact with my partners and I have no doubt that the leaders of these countries, and we have relations of trust and confidence with one another, will be really interested and provide a helping hand," he said.
His remarks came in response to a question on possible countries that can act as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine.
In his talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Modi had said both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" in restoring peace in the region.
The prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally to a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
Modi's nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine on August 23, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
India has been maintaining that the conflict in Ukraine must be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.