Putin cancels his Parliament address in India

New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s scheduled address to Parliament on December 11 has been cancelled.

According to reports, the planned address to a special joint session of both Houses of Parliament during his India visit was cancelled due to “his tight schedule and pressing engagements”.

Significantly, Putin’s visit comes just a month ahead of Obama who will be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade in January 2015. 

In his maiden visit in 2000, Putin addressed a joint sitting of Parliament. Putin had also signed ‘Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership’ with the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. 

According to officials, Putin will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will also hold several meetings with other top functionaries of the government. He is also expected to sign pacts in areas like energy. 

Dubbing the visit as significant, Joint Secretary (Eurasia) Ajay Bisaria said it would be first annual bilateral summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Russian president. 

“The two leaders have already met twice this year. They first met on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Brazil in July for what was a very warm and friendly conversation,” he said.  

“We attach the greatest importance to our bilateral relations. Our prime minister considers relations with Russia a major foreign policy priority for the country. He has warm recollections of his three visits to Russia as the Gujarat chief minister,” Bisaria told reporters.