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Russia, India to sign deal on S-400 Triumf air defense systems delivery

The agreement will be signed on Saturday, October 15

MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. Russia will sign an agreement with India on October 15 on the delivery of S-400 Triumf antiaircraft missile systems, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said on Thursday.

"Following the results of the negotiations between our president and [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi, an agreement will be signed on the delivery of S-400 Triumf antiaircraft missile systems to India, as well as some other documents," he said.

"Part of the documents will be signed behind closed doors," he said.

The Kremlin aide declined to comment on the details of the deal, suggesting that first the document should be signed.

S-400 Triumf

The S-400 Triumf is the most advanced long-range antiaircraft missile system that went into service in 2007. It is capable of destroying aircraft and cruise missiles at a distance of up to 400 km and ballistic targets flying at a speed of 4.8 km per second - at a distance of 60 km.

China has been the first foreign buyer of the S-400 system. The sides announced about signing the contract in the spring of 2015. According to media reports, the deal was worth about $3 billion.

Frigates for the Indian Navy

Russia also plans to sign an agreement on building Project 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy and setting up a Russian-Indian joint venture to produce Kamov Ka-226T helicopters.

Russia-India ties

Following the results of their talks, Putin and Modi will adopt a joint statement to reflect their common approaches towards solving various global and regional issues.

Both sides will also approve a roadmap of measures timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Overall, Russia and India are set to sign about 18 documents.

The Russian presidential aide said that Putin and Modi would hold their talks in the Indian state of Goa on October 15 ahead of the summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping of leading emerging economies.

The Russian and Indian leaders are first expected to talk in a narrow format and then negotiations will be held at the level of delegations. Russia’s delegation will also be represented by Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin, the heads of the Industry and Trade, Energy and Economics Ministries, state civil nuclear power corporation Rosatom and others.

After the talks, the Russian and Indian leaders will take part in the ceremony of laying the foundation for the third and fourth power units of India’s Kudankulam nuclear power plant via a video conference, make statements for the media and hold a tete-a-tete lunch.

The Kremlin aide said that apart from the bilateral agenda, the Russian and Indian leaders would discuss the situation in Syria, Afghanistan and other countries, and also the fight against terrorism. Putin and Modi will also discuss cooperation in nuclear power engineering and military-technical cooperation.

The Kremlin aide replied in the negative to the question about whether the recent Russian-Pakistani military exercises in the zone considered by India as a disputed territory had affected the preparation of the Russian leader’s visit.

"The Indian partners did not link in any way their concerns with the president’s visit," the Kremlin aide said.