Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on Monday for the first time in five years at a time when Moscow is deepening its embrace of New Delhi’s rival, China.
Modi is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit, which will stretch into Tuesday. India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters in New Delhi that given the lack of recent summits, several issues on the bilateral agenda "have piled up, which need to be addressed.”
Senior Indian diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while major announcements are unlikely, Modi’s visit is intended to send a signal that the two sides remain close. Russia’s ties to India stretch back to the Cold War, and the country is India’s biggest supplier of weapons and oil. That relationship has remained "resilient,” Kwatra said.