Russian President Putin set to visit India in early December

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India around December 5 to hold annual summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that are expected to produce significant outcomes to further solidify bilateral strategic ties people familiar with the matter said on WednesdayWhile preparations are underway for the highprofile visit it is not yet clear whether the Russian president will come for a daylong trip or if he will be in India for two daysAhead of Putins trip Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to India next month to finalise the finer details of the presidential visitThe Russian president had last visited New Delhi in 2021 The two sides are also expected to hold a meeting under the framework of the IndiaRussia InterGovernmental Commission on Military and MilitaryTechnical Cooperation IRIGCMampMTC before Putins trip the people cited above saidAt the IndiaRussia annual summit Modi and Putin are expected to deliberate on further expanding the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries There is no official word yet on dates for Putins tripThe focus of the talks could be to deepen cooperation in areas of defence and security trade and energy said one of the people cited aboveIndia and Russia have a mechanism under which Indias prime minister and the Russian president hold a summit meeting annually to review the entire gamut of ties So far 22 annual summit meetings have taken place alternatively in India and RussiaIn July last year PM Modi travelled to Moscow for the annual summit Russia has been a timetested partner for India and the country has been a key pillar of New Delhis foreign policyIt is learnt that India may also look to procure additional batches of S400 air defence missile systems from Russia after the weapons played a significant role during Operation SindoorIn October 2018 India had signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S400 air defence missile systems despite a warning from the Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctionsRussia already supplied three of the five S400 regiments India ordered with the remaining two expected to be delivered in 2026 The delivery schedule was delayed due to Russias ongoing war with UkraineA month back Prime Minister Modi and President Putin held talks on the margins of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO in the Chinese city of TianjinIn the talks the two sides vowed to strengthen their strategic ties The ModiPutin meeting took place days after the US doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent including a 25 per cent additional duty for Indias purchase of Russian crude oilDefending its purchase of Russian crude oil India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamicsIn his televised opening remarks at the meeting Modi told the Russian president that 140 crore Indians are eagerly waiting to welcome him in India in DecemberThis is a reflection of the depth and scope of our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership India and Russia have always stood shouldertoshoulder even in the most difficult situations he had saidThe prime minister said that close cooperation between the two countries is important not only for the people of both countries but also for global peace stability and prosperityIn their upcoming summit talks the two leaders are also expected to deliberate on the Ukraine conflict