Chennai, Sept 11:
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Friday for a three-day visit to India to participate in the 18th BRICS Summit and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Putin arrived at Palam Air Force Station with a high-level delegation and was received by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. This is Putinâs first in-person participation in a BRICS summit outside Russia since the Ukraine war began in February 2022.
Putin and Modi are scheduled to hold bilateral talks at 3.30 pm on Friday. The discussions are expected to focus on strengthening cooperation in defence, energy, technology, pharmaceuticals and people-to-people exchanges, besides expanding bilateral trade and investment.
Russia has also indicated its willingness to deepen defence cooperation with India. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow and New Delhi were exploring upgrades to BrahMos missiles. Russia remains committed to completing deliveries of the remaining S-400 air defence systems and is also discussing a possible supply of Su-57 fighter jets.