Ajit Doval In Russia For BRICS-NSA Meet, Is Ukraine Peace Deal On Agenda?

Moscow: India's National Security Advisor (NSA), who is on Russia visit, held a bilateral meeting with Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of Security Council of the Russian Federation. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the BRICS – (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) – NSAs meetings in Saint Petersburg.

The two sides reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and discussed important issues of mutual interest.

According to sources, NSA Ajit Doval is carrying India’s peace plan proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is expected to be shared with President Putin.

Ajit Doval visit to Moscow has come at a time when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is in Berlin. The EAM has also said that Russia and Ukraine has to negotiate off the battlefield and India is willing to play a role.

Doval's visits Russia nearly 3 weeks after PM Modi met Zelenskyy   

Ajit Doval's visit to Russia comes two-and-half weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's high-profile trip to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Earlier, 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.

With inputs from PTI