India's PM discussed a range of issues with the Russian president via a phone conversation on Friday. The call came after the annual summit between the two countries was canceled over scheduling issues,
The two leaders reviewed bilateral ties, including in energy, trade and investments, defense & security, as well as other key areas, India's prime minister's office said.
The Kremlin statement that agriculture, transport, and logistics also came up during the discussions, indicating that both Delhi and Moscow are scouting for shipping options amid the G7 price cap imposed on Russian oil.
The G7 price cap mechanism controls access to shipping insurance and services for Russian oil. Delhi indicated that it would continue to purchase oil and gas from Russia, and President Putin earlier said that Russia would not supply crude to those countries which joined the price cap.
President Putin expressed “satisfaction” with the bilateral cooperation developing on the principles of a particularly privileged Indo-Russian strategic partnership.
At the request of Modi, Putin also gave fundamental assessments in the context of Russia's line in the Ukrainian direction, the Kremlin said.
Likewise, Modi reiterated his call for “dialogue and diplomacy as the only way forward."
Both leaders also discussed India’s ongoing presidency of the G20 and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The two men agreed to remain in regular touch with each other.
India’s bilateral trade with Russia reached a record level of $27 billion between January-September, primarily due to a rise in Russian oil purchases by Indian refiners.