Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a one-day working visit to India on December 6, within the framework of which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The previous visit of the Russian leader to New Delhi took place on December 4-5, 2018.

However, all this time, the heads of both states maintained regular contacts in a remote format, conducting telephone conversations, participating in the SCO, BRICS, G20 summits and the UN Security Council session on maritime security, which was chaired by Modi.

According to experts, the current visit of the Russian president shows that the strategic partnership between Moscow and Delhi is at a high level.

“Recently, the President of the Russian Federation has not actually traveled abroad.

Nevertheless, India was chosen as the place where Putin is going, which testifies to the very high place on which the Russian Federation places relations with New Delhi.

This is important both for us and for India, "Tatyana Shaumyan, head of the Center for Indian Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained to RT.

This time, the Russian delegation will be represented by a limited number due to the epidemiological situation.

In addition to Putin, New Delhi will also be visited by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin. 

“The President and Prime Minister will take part in the negotiations, which will include a limited number of delegations from both sides.

Then the Prime Minister of India will arrange a dinner for our president, which will be held in a tete-a-tete format, and they will be able to discuss the most delicate and complex issues that will not have time to touch upon during the negotiations as part of the delegations, ”Ushakov said.

Among the possible topics that Putin and Modi will discuss are issues of strategic stability and the fight against terrorism, as well as the situation in the Asia-Pacific region and Afghanistan.

According to Ushakov, following the talks, the parties plan to sign about ten bilateral agreements, including semi-closed ones, in different areas.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 2018

  • AP

  • © Mikhail Klimentyev

In addition, Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu will hold talks in the "2 + 2" format with their colleagues.

During the solemn ceremony of presenting his credentials on December 1, the Russian president stressed that the partnership between Russia and India "brings real mutual benefit to both states."

This can be confirmed by the good dynamics demonstrated by bilateral trade and the active development of ties in energy, innovation, space, the production of antioxidant vaccines and medicines, as well as in the defense sector, Putin said.

According to Yuri Ushakov, after a certain recession amid the coronavirus pandemic, trade between the countries has fully recovered and continues to grow.

“In January-September, it increased by 38.1%, reaching $ 8.8 billion (649 billion rubles -

RT

),” Ushakov said.

In his speech to the new ambassadors, Vladimir Putin emphasized that India is one of the authoritative centers of the multipolar world "with a foreign policy philosophy and priorities that are close to us."

“I am convinced that, relying on strong traditions of friendship and mutual understanding, we will jointly continue to build up the development of the entire range of Russian-Indian ties,” said Vladimir Putin.

Difficult circumstances

Russian Ambassador to India Nikolai Kudashev, speaking to reporters in New Delhi, noted that the talks between the heads of the two states will take place in the context of continuing tension in the world.

"The visit is taking place ... in a very difficult international atmosphere and on the western flank, where you perfectly see attempts to escalate events around Ukraine, and on the east, where efforts to promote various kinds of Indo-Pacific versions, which strongly resemble the second edition of the Cold War, do not stop." , - said Kudashev.

Earlier, on November 30, speaking at a meeting with participants in the Dialogue for the Future 2021 scientific and educational program, Sergei Lavrov said that the United States is trying to rock the situation in the world by concluding all kinds of military alliances and alliances such as AUKUS and QUAD.

In this regard, the minister stressed the importance of interaction with new centers of "economic growth, financial power, political influence" to strengthen the multipolar world order, calling India one of such centers.

“There are partners who share our approaches.

This is the closest environment - the EAEU, the CSTO, the CIS, as well as broader partnerships: the key Eurasian organization - the SCO, the BRICS association.

The “troika” - Russia-India-China (RIC) also retains its importance, ”Lavrov said.

Priority directions

The Kremlin stressed that one of the important places in bilateral relations is occupied by cooperation in the field of energy.

In particular, Moscow and New Delhi are interested in implementing joint LNG projects amid growing demand for liquefied natural gas in the Indian energy market.

According to Yuri Ushakov, "the possibilities for joint development of hydrocarbons on the Arctic shelf and the Far East of Russia are being actively studied."

In addition, the joint construction of the Kudankulam NPP continues - the construction of the second and third stages of the plant is underway.

Cooperation is also developing in the space field - between Roscosmos and the Indian Space Research Organization.

In particular, it is planned to accommodate ground stations GLONASS and the Indian satellite constellation "NavIK", as well as joint activities within the framework of a manned space program.

In addition, the Russian Direct Investment Fund has agreed with Indian companies to produce Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines both for use in India and for re-export to third countries.

  • Ampoules with the Sputnik V vaccine

  • Reuters

  • © Alberto Lingria

The topic of military-technical cooperation also remains one of the priorities in bilateral relations between India and Russia.

It will be discussed at a meeting of the intergovernmental commission on military technical cooperation.

Following the visit of the Russian President to New Delhi in 2018, Putin and Modi signed a contract to supply India with five regimental sets of S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems.

The deal was valued at $ 5.43 billion (RUB 400 billion).

The first division of the air defense missile system will be transferred to the Indian side by the end of 2021.

Russia is expected to fully fulfill its contractual obligations in 2025.

In addition, India and the Russian Federation have agreed to build Project 1135.6 (11356) multipurpose frigates.

Moreover, two of them will be assembled at the Indian shipyard Goa Shipyard Limited.

To date, the total cost of defense contracts between the two countries reaches about $ 9-10 billion (664-737 billion rubles - 

RT

) - these figures were quoted in an interview with TASS by Bala Venkatesh Varma, who served as Indian ambassador to Russia from 2018 to 2021.

According to the diplomat, over the past three years, Russia "has again become India's main partner in the defense industry."

High relationship

According to experts, India is interested in wide-format cooperation with Russia, as it seeks to diversify its foreign policy ties and consolidate cooperation with Moscow, in particular, in the field of energy. 

“At one time, India announced the allocation of a credit line for the Far East in the amount of $ 1 billion (almost 74 billion rubles) and invested in the Sakhalin oil and gas fields.

And today, New Delhi is more interested than ever in expanding its carbon supply.

In this regard, his interest in the development of deposits in the Arctic is quite understandable, "said Boris Volkhonsky, associate professor at the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University, in an interview with RT.

In turn, Tatiana Shaumyan called the cooperation between Russia and India in the Arctic region a fait accompli.

“India and Russia are planning to create joint stations.

I think this makes sense, because the wealth of the Arctic has not yet been fully utilized, and India needs hydrocarbons - this is an important need for the country.

And cooperation with Russia is one of the ways to provide oneself with these resources, ”the expert explained.

Analysts also believe that India will continue to cooperate with Russia in military-technical cooperation, despite US pressure. 

“India is a self-sufficient state that can afford to make decisions based on national interests, rather than submitting to someone else's dictates.

Another thing is that she is actively developing and strengthening relations in many areas with the United States.

But this by no means hinders the further development of relations with Russia, ”Shahumyan said.

  • SAM S-400

  • Twitter

  • © @mod_russia

Volkhonsky also drew attention to the fact that the United States, despite its dissatisfaction with the development of relations between Moscow and New Delhi, is still in no hurry to apply pressure instruments in the form of sanctions against India, as was the case with Turkey, which also bought Russian S-400s. ... In his opinion, Washington is not going to take this step, since it is interested in New Delhi as a potential ally against China. India, on the other hand, is interested in Russian weapons, since they are in many ways superior to their Western counterparts and have a competitive price. 

“India is quite clear about its own interests, for her the concept of price-quality is a guiding principle in decision-making.

And it is unlikely that US pressure will be able to change anything.

In addition, Washington understands that it is counterproductive to put pressure on India, because it is also a very important partner for them, and they do not want to lose the achieved level of relations, ”the interlocutor of RT said.

Based on this, India will try to maintain a strategic balance in relations with both the United States and Russia, experts say.

“As we can see, participation in QUAD was not a reason for India to reduce its participation in RIC, BRICS and SCO.

India participates in those alliances that can help it develop, help strengthen its economy and stabilize its military security.

Therefore, she will continue to participate in QUAD.

However, this does not threaten relations with Russia - they will not become weaker from this, ”Tatiana Shaumyan summed up.