Ahead of Modi-Putin Summit, Russia moves to fast-track deployment of troops, military assets in India

New Delhi: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to host President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi early next month, Russia has moved to put in place an arrangement with India to fast-track for both nations the deployment of military personnel, warships and warplanes in each other’s territory.

The arrangement will allow Moscow and New Delhi to send troops, warplanes and warships to India and Russia, respectively, for joint military drills and training sessions, humanitarian assistance, disaster response and “in other cases, agreed by the sides”.

Modi and President Vladimir Putin will hold the 23rd India-Russia annual summit in New Delhi and discuss ways to expand bilateral trade as well as cooperation in the areas of nuclear energy, defence, and space.

Putin will have a state visit to New Delhi from December 4 to 5 – his first after Russia launched its “special military operations” in Ukraine in February 2022. He had last visited New Delhi just a few weeks before ordering the latest round of offensive against the Eastern European country. He will meet Modi and President Droupadi Murmu during his forthcoming visit.

Modi is going to host Putin even as President Donald Trump of the United States has been claiming success in persuading India to slash oil imports from Russia.

Moscow has moved to ratify an agreement with New Delhi about the procedure of dispatching Russia’s and India’s military units, warships and warplanes to each other’s territory, as well as for organising mutual technical and logistical support for the defence assets. The agreement was inked by the two sides earlier this year.

India already has similar military logistics sharing agreements with the United States, Japan, Australia, France, Singapore, and South Korea.

The dates of Putin’s visit for the meeting with Modi were formally announced in New Delhi and Moscow on Friday.

The 23rd annual India-Russia summit, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi, will provide an opportunity for the leaders of the two nations “to review progress in bilateral relations, set the vision for strengthening the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest”.

The office of the Russian President in Moscow stated that the forthcoming visit would be of great importance, providing an opportunity to comprehensively discuss the extensive agenda of the bilateral relations within the particularly privileged strategic partnership in the “political, trade, economic, scientific, technological, cultural, and humanitarian spheres”, as well as to consider topical international and regional issues.

Putin is likely to share with Modi his views on the 28-point peace plan, which the US presented to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and which was later revised following strong opposition from Europe to the concessions given to the former Soviet Union nation in the first draft.

Modi had earlier told Putin that this was not an era of war. He had also underlined that all conflicts should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and called for the earliest possible cessation of hostilities.