Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is currently on a three-day visit to Russia, is likely to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin later today, sources said.
While no official details on the exact timing of Rajnath Singh’s meeting with President Putin have been released, sources at the Indian Embassy in Moscow have indicated the possibility of high-level discussions between the Indian Defence Minister and the Russian President.
Rajnath Singh arrived in Russia on Sunday night and was received by Ambassador Vinay Kumar and Russian Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin.
After the Defence Minister’s landed in Moscow, the Indian mission in Russia, in a social media post, shared the news of his arrival along with his itinerary during the three-day visit. As per the post on X (formerly Twitter), Rajnath Singh is scheduled to meet Russian President Putin.
“This visit aims to further deepen India-Russia defence cooperation in line with the Special and Previleged Strategic Partnership,” the post added.
On the first day of the his visit on Monday, Rajnath Singh saw Guided missile frigate INS Tushil (F 70) commissioned into the Indian Navy at Kaliningrad in Russia.
INS Tushil is the Russian-manufactured, seventh multirole stealth frigate in the series of Project 1135.6 and the first of the additional follow-on class ships. It is designed for operations across the spectrum of naval warfare in air, surface, underwater and electromagnetic dimensions.
Also on Tuesday, Rajnath Singh is scheduled to pay tribute to Soviet soldiers at the ‘Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’ in Moscow and interact with the Indian community.
Rajnath Singh’s trip comes months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia in October.
During the visit, PM Modi attended the 22nd India-Russia Summit and also participated in the two-day Brics Summit in Kazan, where he also held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.