New Delhi: Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi on December 6, ex-diplomat G Parthasarathy said that the Russian President's visit to New Delhi is the continuation and reaffirmation of a very good relationship between the two nations. The cooperation between India-Russia is underway and it is expected that Putin’s visit will set the new stage for both sides to renew and bolster defence cooperation.
Parthasarathy said that defence will be one of the key issues to discuss in the meeting while adding that the exchange of views with the Russians represents the healthy ties between the two-nation for the past several decades.
The Russian President during his visit to India on December 6 will attend the 21st Annual Summit between the two nations. The annual summit was last held in 2019.
According to information from MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi last week, talks on procuring the S-400 missiles from Moscow would gain prominence.
The summit is expected to coincide with the delivery of the first batch of the S-400 air defence system. It is worth noting that India and Russia signed the $5.43 billion deal to procure the S-400 missile system in 2018.
Commenting on the likely delivery of the first batch of the S-400 system, Parthasarathy opined that the Americans may object to it but ultimately it will be settled. “This is a legislation which is giving the US some trouble with Turkey as well as with India. The bilateral relationship is more important than the S-400”, the ex-envoy added.
