India’s PM Modi announces opening two new consulates in Russia

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the opening of two new consulates in Russia during his visit to Moscow on July 9.

Modi said at a meeting with the Indian community that the opening of the country’s two new consulates in Russia will facilitate travel and business cooperation, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.

India will open two new consulates in Kazan and Yekaterinburg, he specified.

On July 8, India’s PM Modi arrived in Moscow where the 22nd Russia-India summit will take place. Before his departure for Moscow, Modi said that he waited impatiently for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin whom he called his friend.

"The special privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia has progressed in the past decade, especially in the sphere of energy, security, trade, investment, health care, education, culture, tourism and interpersonal exchanges," the Indian prime minister said.

Earlier, the US State Department made a statement urging India to emphasize the need to respect Ukraine's sovereignty in all contacts with Russia.

"We would urge India, as we do any country when it engages with Russia, to make clear that any resolution to the conflict in Ukraine needs to be one that respects the UN Charter, that respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Ukraine’s sovereignty," Miller emphasized at the daily briefing.

He also noted that India is a strategic partner of the US, with whom Washington maintains an open and honest dialogue, including discussions on concerns about India's contacts with Moscow.

India-Russian rapprochement caused indignation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called Modi's visit "huge disappointment and a crushing blow to peace efforts".