Putin’s visit to India will boost cooperation in military, space, energy sectors
The time for the annual summit between India and Russia is coming close. This year’s summit will have a great impact on the India-US relations. But one thing is for sure – Putin’s visit to India will boost the cooperation between the two countries.
India is ready to sign the S-400 missile defence deal. This deal will be signed on Friday in the discussion session between Modi and Putin. The government is aware that the signing of this deal may invite US sanctions.
Putin will be accompanied a high-level delegation. This will include foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. They will arrive in India on Thursday evening and have a private dinner with Modi.
India and Russia are also readying up to sign a set of key pacts. The defence pact is the one with the most media coverage and hype. But expectations are high for the announcement of a new space cooperation mechanism. Putin’s visit to India was put in motion after an announcement Modi. He pledged to send a man to the moon 2022.
On the other side, officials have extensively engaged with the US to prepare them for the S-400 deal. India-Russia relations, in general, was also an important topic. During the recent 2+2 talks, Mattis and Pompeo held an hour-long discussion with Ajit Doval, the national security advisor, on this particular subject.
Russia has offered to provide equipment and training for the mission, with a ‘Make in India’ component. Energy is another frontier where the two countries are willing to cooperate.
Putin’s visit to India will surely help boost the cooperation between the two nations. The US won’t impose much sanctions because they don’t want to globally show that they are against Russia. That would be bad for their image and any further meetings in the Security Council of the UN.
