Putin aims to boost ties in visit to India

NEW DELHI－Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday evening, with the two leaders seeking to bolster military and energy ties.

The agenda for the annual summit includes political and defense issues, according to India's external affairs ministry.

India and Russia were expected to cement several trade and defense pacts at the summit.

Ahead of Putin's visit, India on Monday signed an agreement for the procurement of over 600,000 AK-203 assault rifles with Russia, officials said.

The much-awaited deal will allow the joint production of assault rifles at a facility in India's Uttar Pradesh state.

The deal was signed during the meeting between visiting Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.

The foreign and defense ministers of the two countries held talks ahead of Putin's arrival.

A number of agreements and contracts were signed on small arms and military cooperation, tweeted Singh.

"The friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time," Modi told Putin during an online summit in September. "You have always been a great friend of India."

It is the Russian leader's second trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic after a June summit with US President Joe Biden in Geneva.

"It's hugely symbolic," said Nandan Unnikrishnan from think tank Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

The Kremlin said last week that the talks will be dominated by defense and energy issues, with Igor Sechin, the boss of Russian energy giant Rosneft, also attending as a "number of important energy agreements "were on the table.

Russia has long been a key arms supplier to India, which is looking to modernize its armed forces, including with contracts for the long-range S-400 ground-to-air missile defense system.

The deal, worth over $5 billion, was signed in 2018 and deliveries have reportedly begun.

"The leaders will review the state and prospects of bilateral relations and discuss ways to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries," said India's ministry of external affairs in a statement last month.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday the deal to supply India with S-400 air defense missile systems was being implemented despite what he said were US efforts to undermine the accord, Reuters reported.

Speaking at a news conference in India, Lavrov said India had made clear that it was a sovereign country.

India and Russia are expected to strengthen trade deals. They have already set a target of $30 billion in bilateral trade by the end of 2025.

Agencies - Xinhua