NSA Ajit Doval in Moscow next week for peace talks amidst Ukraine conflict; talks with Prez Putin on agenda: Report

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is likely to visit Moscow, Russia for two days next week to take part in discussions on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Doval is also expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and discuss peace efforts in connection Russia-Ukraine war, sources informed India Today TV. During the visit on September 10-11, Doval will also take part in the BRICS-NSA meeting, the India Today report said.

BRICS is an informal group of 10 nations comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Egypt, and Ethiopia. The last BRICS-NSA meeting was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2023. Doval had represented India at the 2023 Johannesburg meeting.

Doval's two-day trip is coming after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited both Russia and Ukraine in the past two months. Modi met Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky during the visit.

Doval will also hold bilateral meetings with his Russian and Chinese counterparts with the possibility of following up on the discussions from the July summit in Moscow.

After his meeting with President Zelensky, Modi spoke with President Putin over phone on August 27. Modi, in the telephonic conversation, informed President Putin about visit to Kiev and stressed India's commitment to bring about a settlement for Ukraine by political and diplomatic means, according to a statement issued by Russian Embassy.

It was during this phone call that the leaders decided that NSA Doval would travel to Moscow for peace talks, NDTV report quoted sources. No more details about the visit are available as of now, the report said.

Modi has said during his visits to Russia and Ukraine that India was ‘never’ neutral, but has always been on the side of ‘peace.’ President Putin has named India among the three countries Russia is in touch with over the Ukraine conflict.