US sanctions, trade in focus; defence deal okayed: Putin's upcoming big India visit decoded

RUssian chairman Vladimir vladimir vladimirovich putin testament shore in new delhi on Thursday, December 4, for summit talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the next day. The summit, an annual occurrence before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, will be held in New Delhi on Friday, December 5. Several pacts are on the agenda, including the deepening of defence cooperation and the insulation of trade from US sanctions.According to a media brief by the Kremlin, Putin's spokesperson, Dimitri Peskov, said that Russia intends to use the summit to protect trade ties with India from the sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump's administration. Apart from that, a key defence deal between New Delhi and Moscow has also been okayed by the Russian Parliament.Here is everything about Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi and the agenda of the Summit talks.All about Vladimir Putin's New Delhi visit| 5 pointsRussian President Vladimir Putin will land in New Delhi on Thursday, December 4, to kick start his India visit. The annual India-Russia summit talks between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take place on Friday, December 5. This will be Putin’s first visit to India since the start of the invasion of Ukraine.Measures to insulate India-Russia trade from sanctions imposed by the US, an offer on small modular reactors for nuclear energy and deepening of defence cooperation will be on the agenda for the summit between PM Modi and President Putin.The meeting is being seen as an opportunity for India to emphasise its strategic autonomy by reinvigorating defence and economic ties with Russia, against the backdrop of pressure from the US to reduce purchases of Russian energy and military equipment.The two sides have finalised an agreement for mobility of skilled and semi-skilled manpower, and negotiations began last week on a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the Eurasian Economic Union, a five-member bloc including Russia, that is expected to address New Delhi’s concerns about tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, officials of the external affairs ministry said.Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, on Tuesday ratified the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistic Support (RELOS) signed on February 18, between the two governments. "Our relations with India are strategic and comprehensive, and we value them. We understand that today's ratification of the agreement is another step toward reciprocity and, of course, the development of our relations," Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the State Duma, said at the plenary session of the house.