Russian President Vladimir Putin likely to visit India in first week of December
Russian President Vladimir Putin most likely will be visiting India in the first week of December, with the expected date being 6th December for the annual summit between the two countries.
The one-day visit to Delhi will see the Russian President holding talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A number of agreements are expected to be signed during the visit. The summit happens even as the first batch of the S400 air defence systems will be reaching India by the end of this year.
Putin last visited India in 2018 for the annual summit. Interestingly, it was during that visit the contract for S400 system was signed between India and Russia.
The visit by the Russian President will be his 2nd only foreign visit this year, the first one being to Geneva for a summit-level meeting with US President Joe Biden. He had joined the G20 summit in Italy virtually due to the covid crisis at home.
Last year, the annual summit could not happen due to the COVID crisis. Russia and Japan are the only two countries with which India has such an annual summit-level mechanism that alternates between the respective countries. So far, 20 Annual Summit meetings have taken place alternatively in India and Russia.