On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a one-on-one dinner with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The dinner was rather a meeting which took place between both the leaders as President Putin was accompanied only by interpreters. The sources revealed that the meeting took place between the two leaders four-and-a-half months after the informal summit between them in Sochi, a city in Russia.
During the informal summit in Russia in May, the two leaders have said to had spent about six hours holding discussions on "strategic issues" concerning the bilateral relationship.
As per the reports, Putin's aide Yury Ushakov earlier in the week had confirmed about signing a defence system called as S-400 air missile defence system. Indian government sources said that "indications" are that it will be done.
"We will have to see whether a deal will be signed, or an MoU, or will be reflected in the joint statement. We will have to wait for tomorrow," sources reported us. This deal may attract economic sanctions from the US under CAATSA, since US President Donald Trump is yet to certify the deal.
Besides this, the two leaders will hold a restricted conversation on Friday to discuss nuclear, defence and security issues. Following this, discussions on trade, economic, energy, people-to-people issues and delegation-level talks will also take place. "But, since they have a rapport, this agenda is flexible," a source said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a two-day official visit to India. He arrived in New Delhi on Thursday where he was received by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. "Welcome to India, President Putin. Looking forward to our deliberations, which will further enhance India-Russia friendship," the PM tweeted in Russian and English.
The two leaders are said to hold the 19th India-Russia annual bilateral summit during which they will review bilateral defence cooperation. On the other hand, the two leaders will also discuss a joint project in Afghanistan and will talk about the broad aspects regarding the project. Both the leaders came on a decision to discuss the project when they met in Sochi. Besides this, discussions on some important issues especially Russia's proximity to Pakistan will also take place.