March 29 (Reuters) – A detailed ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday to debate the 2 nations’ “mutual interests”, Russian information companies reported.

Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s influential Security Council, was in India for a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional group which brings collectively Russia, India, China and quite a lot of states from throughout central Asia.

Since it invaded Ukraine, Russia has stepped up its diplomatic efforts to spice up the affect of non-Western geopolitical blocs and boards throughout Asia as a substitute for what it says are makes an attempt by the United States and its NATO allies to dominate the area.

While India has referred to as for peace in Ukraine, it has benefited from the battle’s fallout for world power costs by snapping up oil that Russia has been compelled to promote at a reduction due to Western sanctions. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak mentioned on Tuesday that Russian oil gross sales to India jumped 22-fold final yr.

Patrushev and Modi mentioned “issues of Russian-Indian bilateral cooperation and mutual interest,” Russia’s Security Council mentioned in a readout cited by Russian information companies after the assembly, with out offering additional particulars.

Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan

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