Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is looking forward to taking cooperation with India to a “qualitatively new level” when he visits New Delhi on December 4 for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.

At an investment forum in Moscow, he also spoke about strengthening ties with China. He said Russia is working on several joint projects in energy, industry, space, agriculture, and other sectors with both countries.

“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. This is the objective of numerous joint projects in energy, industry, space, agriculture, and other sectors,” he said.

Putin added that he is already in close economic discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He said similar talks will take place in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We have established a substantive dialogue on economic issues with the President of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Xi Jinping. We will also discuss these topics in detail during the upcoming visit to India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including increasing imports of Indian goods to our market,” he added.

Focus on expanding trade

Putin said expanding trade, especially increasing Russian imports from India, will be an important topic in his talks.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that India and Russia are “working together” to raise New Delhi’s exports. He pointed out that Russia remains an important energy supplier to India, even if oil shipments drop for a short time.

Speaking at an online media briefing, Peskov stressed that foreign pressure should not affect Indo-Russian trade.

“Tariff between India and then the United States is rather a question of bilateral relations between India and the US, what concerns us is the way we’re going to continue and enlarge the volume of our bilateral business with India, not letting anyone interfere,” he said.

He also explained that using national currencies for trade helps protect economic cooperation. At the same time, Russia thanked India for taking a “very friendly stand” towards Moscow and appreciated New Delhi’s position on the Ukraine conflict.

Defence deals high on agenda

Defence cooperation is also expected to be a major focus during Putin’s visit. Peskov said the possible sale of more S-400 air defence systems could be discussed.

“Highly on the agenda and this could be discussed. Our military industry is working pretty well. Russian arms 36 per cent in Indian armed forces and hopefully will continue,” Peskov said.

He also said Russia hopes to hold talks on India acquiring the Su-57, its fifth-generation stealth fighter. “SU-57 is the best plane in the world. SU-57 will be on the agenda,” he said.

Peskov highlighted that cooperation is not limited to buying and selling weapons. He pointed to the BrahMos missile project as an example of strong technology sharing between the two countries.

“As far as our cooperation in the defence industry goes, let’s remember the famous Brahmos missiles. It’s not only just production, or it’s not only acts of buying or selling, but it’s exchange of high technologies, and it really paves the way for a bright future in this field of cooperation. We’re developing quite, quite a variety of very complicated systems. And in this sense, of course, we have capabilities. We are ready to share this with our Indian friends, our experience,” he added.

Strong push for closer partnership

Overall, Russia has made it clear that it wants to deepen economic, technological, and defence cooperation with India. Putin’s upcoming visit is expected to focus on trade expansion, technology exchange, and strengthening long-term strategic ties between the two countries.