Modi meets Putin as India walks US-Russia tightrope

NEW DELHI, May 21 (Agencies):Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi as part of an informal summit between the two countries.

"Am confident the talks with President [Vladimir] Putin will further strengthen the special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia," Modi tweeted on the eve of the trip aimed at underscoring close ties.

Regional issues, including the US decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, will likely be the focus of the talks between the two leaders.

"The main driver of this meeting is the geopolitical environment prevailing today," PS Raghavan, chief of India's national security advisory board, told the news agency.

"The primary purpose of Modi's Russia trip would be to discuss the evolving geopolitical situation and to understand each other's perspective - to be able to see how we can both deal with situations in common interest," Raghavan, who was also a former Indian envoy to Russia, said.

Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Russia on Monday morning for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin in the city of Sochi, confirmed an official in the country's external affairs ministry.

Modi is visiting Russia at the invitation of Putin. The two leaders are expected to discuss a range of current bilateral, regional and global issues.

"This will be an important occasion for the two leaders to exchange views on international matters in a broad and long-term perspective with the objective of further strengthening our special and privileged strategic partnership," the Indian external affairs ministry said in a statement, adding that both leaders will also discuss their respective national developmental priorities and bilateral matters.

Meanwhile, China's powerful new vice president, Wang Qishan, will visit Russia and Belarus starting this week, China's foreign ministry said on Monday, his first overseas trip since being appointed in March.

Wang, 69, a key ally of President Xi Jinping and China's one-time top graft buster, should have retired last year during a leadership reshuffle of the ruling Communist Party, but Xi has kept him on to add extra heft to Chinese diplomacy.