Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in India Thursday on a state visit aimed at bolstering bilateral and economic ties between the two countries, reports AP.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the Russian leader at an airport in New Delhi, giving a bearhug and a tight handshake with the gusto of an old friend.
Modi will host Putin for a private dinner tonight at his decked-up official residence.
On Friday, the two leaders will hold talks as part of the 23rd India-Russia Summit and discuss deepening economic cooperation, mainly in defense, energy and the mobility of skilled labor.
Putin’s visit comes at a sensitive time in global politics when there is a renewed push by the U.S. on a peace deal to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end. The visit will test New Delhi’s efforts to balance relations with Moscow and Washington as the nearly four-year war in Ukraine grinds on.
Putin last visited India in 2021. Modi was in Moscow last year, and the two leaders briefly met in September in China during a Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
