Vladimir Putin to visit India on December 6 for 21st Indo-Russia Annual Summit

New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin will come to India on December 6, 2021, to take part in the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced Arindam Bagchi, MEA spokesperson on Friday.

Apart from the Russian President, his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu will also visit India to hold the inaugural '2+2' ministerial dialogue between the two countries, the Russian embassy has said.

In an official statement, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi further confirmed that the first meeting of the 2+2 dialogue will be held in Delhi on December 6.

Lavrov and Shoigu will hold the talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The Russian chief’s visit will coincide with the delivery period of the first batch of S-400 aircraft and will build momentum for the military-technical cooperation between India and Russia.

Putin’s trip to India in December will mark his second international trip after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. His last international visit was the landmark Geneva trip where he took part with US President Joe Biden.

The 2020 edition of the Indo-Russia Annual Summit was deferred due to the pandemic situation in both countries.

On the pandemic front, Russia is reeling with the fourth wave of COVID-19 with over 34,000 cases reported on Friday.