Putin to travel to India in rare trip abroad

Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to India next month, in only his second trip abroad since the Covid-19 pandemic began two years ago, the Kremlin said Friday.

Moscow said the Russian leader will go to India on December 6 for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Putin has only left Russia once during the pandemic -- to meet US President Joe Biden in Geneva in June.

In a statement, the Kremlin said Putin and Modi will hold talks on furthering the "privileged strategic partnership" between Russia and India.

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It said the pair will discuss their "joint work" within the G20, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) -- an eight-member group that promotes itself as an antidote to Western geopolitical dominance.

The talks are expected to be centred around the deliveries of Russia's S-400 air defence systems and Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines to India.

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India is a major buyer of Russian military hardware. In 2018, it ordered Moscow's S-400 missile defence system despite the threat of US sanctions over the $5.4-billion deal.

India -- home to the world's biggest vaccine manufacturer -- has also authorised Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, in a boost to its inoculation drive.

Earlier this month, Moscow said its foreign and defence ministers will be in New Delhi in December to meet their Indian counterparts.