Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India on December 6 when he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold their first in-person India-Russia summit in two years. “The leaders will review the state and prospects of bilateral relations and discuss ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
The highlight of the visit will be the delivery of S-400 Triumf missile systems, whose components have already started arriving in India. Delivery of the first squadron is scheduled to be completed by December. The US, under the CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act), could impose sanctions against India for engaging in transactions with the Russian sectors.
The Modi-Putin summit will coincide with the first meeting of the 2+2 dialogue between defence minister Rajnath Singh and foreign minister S Jaishankar with their respective counterparts, Sergey Shoigu and Sergey Lavrov. The dialogue was agreed after a telephone conversation between Modi and Putin on April 28, Bagchi said.
The Russian embassy tweeted, "Ministers are expected to have in-depth discussions of the key regional and international topics, including the situation in the Asia-Pacific region and developments on #Afghanistan and #Syria, as well as exchange views on interaction within #SCO and# RIC."
The last India-Russia annual summit was held in September 2019 when Modi visited Vladivostok. The summit could not happen in 2020.
