NSA Ajit Doval meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow

In images shared by the Indian Embassy in Russia, the two were seen exchanging a handshake and engaging in discussion.

Doval's visit to Moscow is aimed at arriving at a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, media reports said.

This comes two-and-a-half weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited both Russia and Ukraine and met its leaders Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

Shortly after his trip to Ukraine and his meeting with President Zelensky, the Prime Minister spoke to President Putin over the phone on Aug 27.

During Wednesday's meeting, Putin reportedly expressed his hope that PM Modi will travel to Russia's Kazan next month to attend the annual BRICS summit.

Putin also proposed to hold a bilateral meeting with PM Modi on Oct 22 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit to discuss 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, Doval 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 Aug 23 cropped up in the talks between the two NSAs.