Russia promised early discharge of all Indian nationals from army service: MEA

Moscow [Russia], July 9 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, took a strong stance on the issue of Indian nationals being recruited into the Russian army and the Russian government has assured an "early discharge" of these Indians from the army service, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Tuesday.
Addressing a special briefing on Tuesday, Kwatra said, "The Prime Minister strongly raised the issue of early discharge of Indian nationals who have been misled into the service of the Russian army. This was taken strongly by the Prime Minister, and the Russian side promised early discharge of all Indian nationals from the service of the Russian army."
Notably, several Indians were allegedly duped into fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine on the pretext of lucrative jobs. In April, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), had busted a major human trafficking network running across the country targeting Indian nationals on the promise of offering lucrative jobs abroad but allegedly sending them to the Russia-Ukraine war zone.
The CBI stated that these traffickers have been operating as an organised network and were luring Indian nationals through social media channels like YouTube, etc., and also through their local contacts and agents for highly paid jobs in Russia.
Kwatra further informed about the details of the investment partnership and said, "In the field of energy, besides trade and hydrocarbon, the investment partnerships in this field were also discussed, in particular, the partnership of India with Rosneft across the hydrocarbon domain."
He added further, "In the nuclear energy field, the continuing cooperation on the Kudankulam nuclear power projects units three to six was discussed between two leaders."
The Foreign Secretary also spoke about the highest national honour which was conferred on the Prime Minister, the Order of St Andrew the Apostle, and said that this award was announced in 2019.
Elaborating more on the talks that took place between both the leaders, Kwatra informed, "The agenda of discussion between the two leaders was principally economic. It also included elements relating to cooperation between the two countries in the political sphere, a larger space of economic engagement covering extensively trade, capital linkages, energy, science and technology. Defence and security were also another element of discussion."
Kwatra further added, "The two leaders also reviewed the status of bilateral engagement and multilateral groupings including BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the United Nations."
Meanwhile, PM Modi also addressed the Indian community in Moscow. He spoke about the ties between India and Russia and the contribution of the Indian diaspora to strengthening them. He also announced the opening of Indian consulates in Kazan and Yekaterinburg.
The Prime Minister stressed that the ties between India and Russia are giving new energy to global prosperity. He also praised the Indian community for giving new heights to the ties between India and Russia.