Medvedev likely to visit India towards end of the year

MOSCOW: New Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, after his inauguration on May 7, could visit India towards the end of the year.
 
Medvedev is likely to attend the closing ceremony of the Year of Russia in India and a bilateral summit, according to the Kremlin sources.
 
China will be the first foreign nation outside the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to be visited by the Medvedev after his inauguration.
 
"As I promised on the election night, I will first go to Kazakhstan and from there to China. This will be my first foreign tour," Medvedev said in an interview to the popular Russian weekly Argumenty i Fakty.
 
It is not ruled out that Medvedev's China trip could coincide with the Beijing Olympics due in August.
 
According to the Kremlin sources, schedule of the foreign tours of new Russian president in 2008 is still being worked out.