Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in India on Thursday, 4 October, for the annual India-Russia summit visit during which the two countries are likely to sign a deal to procure S-400 air defence systems and deliberate on key regional and global issues, including US sanctions on import of Iranian crude oil.
The Kremlin said before the two-day visit by Putin and top Russian ministers that the ‘key feature’ would be the signing of a $5-billion deal for the S-400 air defence system, despite the risk of US sanctions against countries buying Russian defence equipment, according to reports.
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India has been trying to obtain a waiver to avoid sanctions under US legislation called Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which was signed into law last August and aims to counter Russia’s ‘malign activity’ around the world.
However, a US State Department spokesperson told news agency PTI on Wednesday, that upgrades in arms systems ‘including the S-400 air and missile defense system’ would be a particular focus for CAATSA.
Last month, the Donald Trump administration had imposed sanctions on China under CAATSA for buying Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and the S-400.
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S-400 is known as Russia’s most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. China was the first foreign buyer to seal a government-to-government deal with Russia in 2014 to procure the lethal missile system and Moscow has already started delivery of an undisclosed number of the S-400 missile systems to Beijing.
The last annual summit was held on 1 June, 2017, during the visit of PM Modi to Russia. In May, Modi had travelled to Russian coastal city of Sochi for an informal summit with Putin during which they discussed a range of crucial issues.
Modi and Putin are also expected to explore ways to further deepen cooperation between the two countries in a number of sectors including trade, investment, connectivity, energy, space and tourism. The government on Wednesday approved a pact between India and Russia for mutual cooperation in the road transport and highways sector and the MSME sector.
Putin’s tentative itinerary is
- Arrival at Air Force Station, Palam, New Delhi at 6.40 pm on Thursday
- Meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence at 7.30 pm.
- Meeting with Modi at Hyderabad House at 11 am on Friday, October 5
- Delegation-level talks between the two countries at Hyderabad House at 11.30 am
- Exchange of agreements and press statements at Hyderabad House at 1.20 pm
- Interaction with children at Central Garden, ITC Maurya, at 2.30 pm
- Addressing India-Russia Business Summit at ITC Maurya at 3.30 pm
- Meeting President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 4.30 pm
- Departure for Russia at 5.40 pm
- He is scheduled to arrive at Air Force Station, Palam, New Delhi at 6.40 pm on Thursday
- Meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence at 7.30 pm.
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