Russia's Vladimir Putin likely to visit India for annual bilateral with PM Modi on Dec 6

For the annual India-Russia bilateral summit, sources have informed Republic that Russia's President Vladimir Putin will be visiting the country in December and meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The date of his visit, sources further informed, could be on December 6, though it remains to be confirmed. Confirmation of Putin's visit to India could also hinge on the COVID situation in Russia, though there are clearly a number of key matters to discuss, especially given the changed security scenario since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and China's expansionism. 

It was in 2018 that Vladimir Putin last visited India for the annual summit, and the Russian President was again to visit in 2020 but because of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, his visit was cancelled. It is pertinent to mention here that this will be Putin's second foreign visit post-pandemic if it happens, reflecting the significance of the strategic partnership between the two nations. Before this, Putin has travelled only to Geneva for the landmark Summit with US President Biden.

Russia's President's visit to India

It is learnt that the two sides are going to firm up a number of agreements in the areas of defence, trade and investment, and science and technology at the summit. A framework for military-technical cooperation will be renewed for the next decade at the summit.  India and Russia have also reached the final phase of negotiation for a logistics support agreement and it is likely to be signed either during the two-plus-two foreign and defence ministerial dialogue in Moscow or at the summit. The pact will allow militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation. Also, a joint commission on technology and science will be announced. 

Afghanistan issue also to be discussed 

The topic of Afghanistan is also going to come up during the summit. Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev visited India in September as part of a follow-up to the telephonic conversation between Modi and Putin on the developments in AfghanistanPatrushev again visited India this week to attend the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan. Apart from Russia and India, the dialogue was attended by top security officials of Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

At the dialogue, the eight participating nations vowed to work towards ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for global terrorism and called for the formation of an "open and truly inclusive" government in Kabul.