National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday on the sidelines of the BRICS National Security Advisers' meeting. The two were seen exchanging a handshake in a picture shared on X by the Russian Embassy in India.

????? On September 12, #Russia's President Vladimir Putin had a meeting with Ajit Doval, National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of #India, at the Konstantinovsky Palace in #StPetersburg.

?? https://t.co/vFQ64S4vMq#RussiaIndia #DruzhbaDosti pic.twitter.com/KxcD9aciDG

? Russia in India ?? (@RusEmbIndia) September 12, 2024

NSA Doval's visit to Russia comes two-and-a-half weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Ukraine. In his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, PM Modi said both Ukraine and Russia should sit together to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" to restore peace in the region.

Sources had said that Mr Doval's visit to Russia would be aimed at resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He was reportedly carrying PM Modi's peace plan for President Putin.

In the talks, the Russian leader expressed hopes that PM Modi will travel to Russia's Kazan next month to attend the annual BRICS summit. 

Mr Putin also proposed to hold a bilateral meeting with PM Modi on October 22 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to summarise the outcomes of joint work on the implementation of the agreements reached during his visit to Moscow and to outline prospects for the near future, the Russian Embassy said in a statement released on Telegram.

"We are waiting for our good friend (Narendra) Modi and best regards to him," the Russian media quoted Putin as saying in the meeting.

On Wednesday, Mr Doval had held wide-ranging talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in St Petersburg and discussed important issues of "mutual interests". It is understood that PM Modi's talks with the Ukrainian President on August 23 figured in the talks between the two NSAs.