Putin visit on Dec 4-5, many deals on anvil

President Putin is set to visit New Delhi for the India-Russia annual summit next week on December 4 and 5. It will see the Russian president hold talks with Prime Minister Modi, the first after the two met in Tianjin for the SCO summit in end-August.

- Ashwin Ahmad

The meeting will be seen as a symbolic victory for the Russian leader. Given the outstanding ICC warrant against him, Putin was unable to attend the recent G-20 meeting in South Africa. However, India is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, and therefore the annual summit, which is the 23rd India-Russia annual summit, will go ahead as planned.

MEA said, “During the visit, President Putin will hold talks with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Hon'ble Rashtrapatiji will also receive President Putin and host a banquet in his honour.” It added. “The forthcoming State Visit will provide an opportunity for the leadership of India and Russia to review progress in bilateral relations, set the vision for strengthening the 'Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership', and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.”

Kremlin released a statement which stated that all aspects of the “special and privileged partnership” would be discussed. This was confirmed by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar when he met his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for talks in Moscow earlier this month. Jaishankar had confirmed that a number of bilateral agreements would be announced along with some new initiatives and projects.