Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit India next month to attend a bilateral conference. India hopes to strengthen military ties between the two countries around the summit. Russia is expected to deliver the first shipment of state-of-the-art S-400 air defense to the country in mid-December. This information has been reported in the Times of India.
According to sources, Putin will visit India in the second week of December. The Russian president was scheduled to pay a visit last year. However, due to the Corona epidemic, the plan was postponed at that time. So far, India and Russia have participated in 20 bilateral conferences.
At the forthcoming conference, the two countries are expected to sign agreements in various fields, including defense, trade, investment and science and technology. The two sides will also review regional security. The situation in Afghanistan will also be discussed. Meanwhile, it has been reported that the two countries’ foreign and defense ministries may meet in Moscow before the December conference.
A source also told the Times of India about the supply of S-400 to India next month. India signed an agreement with Russia on S-400 in 2016. According to the agreement, India will get 5 units of air defense system for USD 500 crore. Of this, about 600 million has been paid to Russia in 2019.
Russia’s most advanced air defense system is the S-400. In this system, the opponent can be defeated by launching long range missiles from the ground to the sky. Russia has previously sold S-400s to Turkey. As a result, the country is under US sanctions.
Above all, India fears that similar US sanctions could be imposed on them if the air defense system is in place.
