New Delhi

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday underscored the significance of India’s long-standing ties with Russia ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s scheduled visit to New Delhi later this week.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Tharoor said New Delhi must continue safeguarding its ability to independently engage with major global powers. “It is a very important visit. It’s an extremely important relationship. We talk for a long time about strategic autonomy; we have to preserve our negotiating space with America, China, Russia,” he remarked.

Reasserting that India should not align its foreign policy with the interests of any single nation, he added, “We cannot mortgage our autonomy to any other country’s interest. We have to have independent relationships with all countries. Russia is an old relationship, it is a serious relationship, strong relationship.”

President Putin will arrive in India on December 4–5 for the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Meanwhile, speaking at an investment forum in Moscow earlier this week, Putin highlighted the roadmap for expanding cooperation with both Beijing and New Delhi. “We aim to elevate cooperation with the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India to a qualitatively new level by strengthening its technological component,” he said, noting joint projects in energy, space, industry, agriculture and other sectors.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov indicated that defence cooperation will feature prominently in the discussions during the visit. He suggested that the possible sale of additional S-400 long-range air defence systems could come up and added that Russia hopes to hold talks on India potentially acquiring the Su-57 fifth-generation stealth fighter.

“SU-57 is the best plane in the world. SU57 will be on the agenda,” Peskov said, while also recalling the BrahMos joint venture as a successful example of high-technology collaboration between the two countries.

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Peskov further noted that an agreement on nuclear energy cooperation could also be explored during the summit.