Putin arrives on a 27-hr tour to bolster bilateral relations

Putin-Modi talks are expected to set the tone for the India-Russia summit meeting today

- PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives Putin at New Delhi's Palam airport on Thursday evening.

(AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday night kick-started a nearly 27-hour visit to India to further shore up an early eight-decade bilateral partnership that remained in firm footing notwithstanding fractious geopolitical environment and tensions.

In reflection of the importance India attached to the visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Putin at New Delhi's Palam airport with a hug and accorded him a warm welcome to India after a gap of four years.

The two leaders left the airport in the same car, nearly three months after they travelled together on a vehicle in the Chinese city of Tianjin following the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

Modi hosted a private dinner for Putin in the evening, in reciprocal gesture to the hospitality extended to the Indian prime minister by the Russian leader during his visit to Moscow in July last year.