Putin visit: There won’t be time for chit-chat, says Russian media outlet

New Delhi, Oct 5: Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in India for a two-day visit on Thursday, October 4, and all eyes are on the two sides over their S-400 missile defence system agreement. The agreement has become all the more significant since the US is against the agreement and has threatened to impose sanctions if India went ahead with it.

The Russians, however, are pretty sure that the transaction will proceed unhindered. Government-funded Russian news channel RT said in a report: "Vladimir Putin heads to India for a two-day visit, during which he will meet PM Narendra Modi. All eyes will be on the $5-billion deal to purchase S-400s from Russia, which Delhi approved in defiance of a US threat of sanctions."

The media report also said that "there won't be time for chit-chat" as the Russian president will discuss with Prime Minister Modi cooperation in area of defence, something which it cited as said by the Kremlin. It also said that the two leaders will sign over 20 documents during Putin's trip to India for the 19th annual summit between the two traditional allies.

The RT report also said: "Military cooperation between Russia and India has been heightened after New Delhi resisted pressure from the US and decided to purchase the S-400 Triumf complexes from Russia. The $5-billion deal to purchase the most sophisticated Russian aerial-defense system available on the market will be signed during Putin's visit to India, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov."

"The Russian S-400s are currently the best complexes in their class. India has 'healthy pragmatism', and it doesn't want 'to somehow annoy' Washington by purchasing them," RT quoted Aleksey Martynov, a director of the International Institute of the Newly Established States group, as telling it.