Indian officials say Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will visit Russia in May to attend festivities marking the 300th anniversary of Saint Petersburg. The announcement came as Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha met in Moscow on Wednesday with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov.
Russian news agencies quote Mr. Ivanov as saying that Russian-Indian relations have been growing dynamically in all aspects. He said India and Russia have similar or identical views on issues of global security.
The Indian prime minister's upcoming trip follows a visit to Moscow earlier this month by Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf. The visit was the first to Russia by a Pakistani leader in more than three decades.
During Mr. Musharraf's trip, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin was eager to improve relations with Pakistan, but stressed that it would not come at the expense of Moscow's ties with New Delhi.
Russia is a large supplier of military equipment to the Indian army, navy, and air force.