Russian President Vladimir Putin bats for visa-free travel with India

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday batted for a visa-free travel deal between India and Russia during his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a bilateral meeting between Modi and Putin on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in this Silk Road city in Uzbekistan, the Russian president underlined that India's rich history and ancient culture are traditionally of great interest to the Russian people.

Against this backdrop, "we propose accelerating the process of negotiations towards an agreement on visa-free tourist travel," Putin was quoted as saying by Russia's official news agency TASS.

During the talks, Modi noted that Moscow and New Delhi have been together for several decades and thanked Putin for assistance in evacuation of thousands of Indian students from Ukraine after Russian troops launched a "special military operation" against the neighbouring country in February.