Russian President Vladimir Putin's two-day visit to India continues. High-level official talks will be held in New Delhi on Friday.
Following these meetings, the countries will adopt a package of bilateral intergovernmental documents and a number of trade agreements. The country's leaders Putin and Modi will also address the plenary session of the Russian-Indian business forum and make a statement to the media.
The Russian delegation includes Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Central Bank Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko, and Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the international media group “Russia Today“ and the RT TV channel.
The Russian leader will visit the Mahatma Gandhi memorial and meet with President Draupadi Murmu.
On Thursday, Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held an informal meeting.
Earlier, the Russian president gave an interview to India Today. He spoke about cooperation between the two countries in the fields of defense, trade and energy. Putin stressed that "relations between Russia and India do not harm third parties".
He also touched on the Ukrainian crisis and defined the "special military operation" as "an attempt to end a war unleashed by the West". Putin added that "Moscow is defending its interests and people, while the mentality of the authorities in Kiev is reminiscent of a neo-Nazi regime".
"With the continuation of the conflict, they have practically backed themselves into a corner," Putin said.
The Russian president also spoke of "Washington's desire to resolve the situation in Ukraine" and said he sincerely believes in the humanitarian considerations guiding President Donald Trump. He noted that restoring economic relations between Russia and the United States would be beneficial in many areas.