MOSCOW: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held talks with Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov here on bilateral military-technical ties and implementation of joint projects in strategic sectors.

Doval is in Russia to hold crucial talks on bilateral energy and defence ties and to prepare the ground for President Putin's visit to India later this year.

Doval and Manturov met on Friday, according to the Russian Embassy in India.

The talks covered "topical issues of #RussiaIndia military-technical cooperation, as well as the implementation of joint projects in other strategic sectors, including civil aircraft manufacturing, metallurgy, and the chemical industry," the embassy said in an X post.

On Thursday, Doval called on Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

During the meeting, he reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to continue cooperation on all fronts with Russia in spite of outside pressure.

The NSA's visit to Russia comes in the backdrop of US President Donald Trump slapping an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods as a penalty for buying Russian oil, doubling it to 50 per cent.

According to sources, Doval extended an invitation to President Putin on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit India later this year, which Putin has accepted with gratitude.