E-Paper
Putin to begin India visit on Thursday: PM Modi to host dinner, trade and energy talks on agenda
The 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit will focus on deepening defence ties, as well as talks on trade and energy cooperation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will begin his two-day visit to India on Thursday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosting a private dinner for him hours after he lands in New Delhi.
The 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, which comes in the backdrop of punitive sanctions imposed by the United States of America on New Delhi, will focus on deepening defence ties, as well as talks on trade and energy cooperation.
Ahead of Putin's visit, Russia also gave the go-ahead to a key defence deal between Moscow and New Delhi.
Also Read | Putin’s India visit and a new deal for India-Russia ties
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had earlier said there might be discussion between the two sides on the possibility of Russia supplying Su-57 fighter jets to India, PTI news agency reported.
Putin's India visit: Everything we know
• Russian President Putin will land in New Delhi at around 4:30 pm on Thursday, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host him for a private dinner hours later. Putin had also hosted Modi for a dinner during the PM's visit to Moscow last year.
• The annual India-Russia summit talks between PM Modi and Putin will take place on Friday, December 5. This is Putin's first visit to India since the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian President will be accorded a ceremonial welcome before the talks, PTI news agency reported.
• PM Modi will also host a working lunch for the Putin and his delegation at Hyderabad House, the venue for the talks. According to people familiar with the matter cited by PTI, Putin is also expected to visit Rajghat in the morning.
• For the summit between Modi and Putin, measures to insulate India-Russia trade from sanctions imposed by the US, an offer on small modular reactors for nuclear energy and deepening of defence cooperation will be on the agenda, according to an earlier HT report.
• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that there may be a discussion on the possibility of Russia supplying Su-57 fighter jets to India. India is in the process of procuring a batch of fifth-generation fighter jets.
• The two sides are also expected to sign agreements, including one on facilitating movement of Indian workers to Russia. Both sides might also discuss New Delhi's proposed free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union.
• After the summit with PM Modi, Putin will attend a state banquet hosted by President Droupadi Murmu, and will also launch the new India channel of Russia's state-run broadcaster RT, according to PTI.
• The meeting is also being seen as an opportunity for India to emphasise its strategic autonomy by revitalising defence and economic ties with Russia.
• New Delhi is also expected to push for addressing the increasing trade deficit due to India's procurement of large volumes of Russian crude oil. The impact of US sanctions on India's procurement of Russian crude oil might also be discussed at the summit, PTI reported.
• Putin is also likely to apprise Modi on the latest efforts by the US to forge an agreement between Russia and Ukraine, and bring an end to the conflict.
