Russia's Putin to visit India on December 4-5 for Modi talks, Kremlin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit India on December 4-5 at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss bilateral ties and international issues, the Kremlin and India's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

During the state visit, Putin will hold talks with Modi and hold a separate meeting with Indian President Droupadi Murmu, the Kremlin said, saying a number of unspecified intergovernmental and commercial documents would be signed.

Putin last went to India in December 2021, just a few months before ordering troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

"This visit is of great importance, providing an opportunity to comprehensively discuss the extensive agenda of Russian-Indian relations as a particularly privileged strategic partnership," the Kremlin said in a statement.

It said the relationship covered bilateral political, trade, economic, scientific, technological, cultural, and humanitarian spheres.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Modi for India to stop buying oil from Russia. India has been one of the biggest purchasers of Russian oil.

Trade and refining sources said this week that India's Russian oil imports were set to hit their lowest in at least three years in December, down from multi-month highs in November, as refiners turned to alternatives to avoid breaching Western sanctions.