Talks next week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be dominated by energy and defence issues, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Putin’s visit to India on Monday will be only his second trip beyond Russia since the pandemic took hold, after a June summit in Geneva with US leader Joe Biden.
“We attach great importance to developing relations with India,” Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters, noting that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and energy giant Rosneft’s boss Igor Sechin would also travel to India.
The meeting — the first between Putin and Modi since November 2019, according to Ushakov — will focus on defence and energy issues, he said, without elaborating.
Ushakov said a package of deals were set to be signed, and Sechin was involved because a “number of important energy agreements” were on the table.
India is a major buyer of Russian weaponry, agreeing a $5.4-billion missile deal in 2018 despite the threat of US sanctions.
India, which is home to the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer, has also authorised Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine.
Putin is expected to arrive in India on Monday evening Moscow time, Ushakov said, and will meet one-on-one with Modi following talks between defence and foreign ministers.
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