Beijing | National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Thursday met Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu, who said that the two countries are linked by "strong, time-tested ties of friendship."

Doval arrived here on Wednesday to hold crucial talks on bilateral energy and defence ties and to prepare the ground for Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India later this year.

It is important for Moscow and New Delhi to determine the timing of new full-scale negotiations between President Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shoigu said at the meeting with Doval.

"A multi-level trust-based political dialogue is effectively functioning between our countries now. It is based on regular contacts between President Putin and Prime Minister Modi. It is important to determine the dates for the next full-scale negotiations between our leaders," he was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.

Russia and India are linked by "strong, time-tested ties of friendship," Shoigu said, adding that for Moscow the most important thing is to comprehensively strengthen the special privileged strategic partnership with India, which is based on "mutual respect, trust, equal consideration of each other's interests, and the desire to promote a unifying agenda."

"We are committed to further active cooperation to form a new, more just and sustainable world order, ensure the rule of international law and jointly combat modern challenges and threats," he added.

Doval expressed hope that the Summit meeting will provide new directions for development of bilateral relations and produce a “tangible and substantial" result of the talks, TASS reported.