India and Russia are cooperating extensively in areas such as trade, security and culture. People of our nations will benefit due to close bilateral ties," PM Modi said.
Russia is proceeding with the plan to deliver its hallmark S-400 surface-to-air missiles to India according to schedule, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Thursday to reporters at the BRICS summit in Brazil.
"As far as the S-400 deliveries are concerned, everything is going according to plan. Our Indian colleagues have not asked to speed anything up, it's all going fine," Putin said at the summit of BRICS countries.
The Russian President also told reporters that he had discussed supplying the S-400 missile defence system to India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The clarification comes after India had agreed last year to buy the S-400 anti-aircraft missiles from Russia, despite the United States (US)' warnings that the purchase could trigger sanctions against it.
The S-400 anti-aircraft weapons system is developed by Russia's Almaz Central Design Bureau and has been in service with the Russian Armed Forces since 2007. It has been called "one of the best air-defence systems" of current times.
India has said that the weapons systems are needed to defend its territories against China.
PM Modi and President Putin also reviewed the progress made in the bilateral relationship between India and Russia since the former's visit to Vladivostok in September.
The Prime Minister, during his bilateral meeting with the Russian President on the margins of the 11th BRICS summit, decided that the first Bilateral Regional Forum at the level of Russian Provinces and the Indian States should be held next year to dismantle the barriers of trade at regional level, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
The two leaders noted with satisfaction that the USD 25 billion targets of bilateral trade by 2025 has already been achieved, it read.
"I had an excellent meeting with President Putin. During our talks, we reviewed the full range of India-Russia relations. India and Russia are cooperating extensively in areas such as trade, security and culture. People of our nations will benefit due to close bilateral ties," the Prime Minister said.
The two leaders met over two months after holding extensive talks in Russia`s Far East city of Vladivostok on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) wherein India had announced an "unprecedented" USD 1 billion line of credit to develop the country`s resource-rich Far East region.
During the meeting, the two leaders noted the stability and progress made in imports of oil and natural gas.
Putin highlighted the potential of the Arctic region in natural gas and invited India to invest in the region, the statement said.
The two leaders also reviewed the progress made in the field of Infrastructure particularly railways in the context of raising the speed of the Nagpur-Secunderabad sector railway line.
The leaders also noted with satisfaction the cooperation in the defence sector and in the field of civil nuclear energy.
They welcomed the prospects of cooperation in civil nuclear energy in third countries, it read.
The two leaders also noted that both sides shared a common position on international issues and agreed to continue close consultations in the future, the statement added.
Meanwhile, the Russian President also reiterated the invitation to the Prime Minister to visit Moscow to participate in the Victory Day celebrations next year, which Modi gladly accepted.
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 "PM Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin")
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