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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on July 8 to discuss bilateral relations between New Delhi and Moscow. According to government sources, the visit will include discussions on India's defense, oil, gas and other strategic interests. The visit is important after Prime Minister Modi's recent G7 summit in Italy, as most of the world's leadership is in transition and the US presidential election is months away. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has met Russian President Vladimir Putin several times, and Prime Minister Modi's visit is seen as part of India's efforts to find a way forward. The prime minister last met the Russian president at the 2022 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Uzbekistan, where he told Putin that the current era was "not war." The visit is also important because of the strong bilateral relations between the two countries. As India is heavily dependent on Russia for many defense procurements, India does not want Russia to be heavily dependent on China.

According to the sources, the trip will also benefit the West as India is seen as the only strong mediator in the current situation of the Russian-Ukraine conflict. Discussions on issues like defence, the China factor and Ukraine mediation, earlier led by NSA Doval, are now at the highest level as the focus is on the crucial factor in India-Russia relations. In global geopolitics, according to the sources.