New Delhi, December 3 — Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, European Union envoy to India Herve Delphin said the EU regards Russia as an aggressor and urged New Delhi to factor that reality into its strategic calculations. Delphin pointed to Russia’s invasion of a neighbouring country and documented incidents such as drone activity and damaged subsea cables, saying Moscow has positioned itself as hostile to European interests.
Delphin added that while European countries will avoid actions that threaten India’s core security interests, they expect reciprocity from India in its relations with Europe. He said security should be central to EU-India ties, even as the two sides continue to find many areas for cooperation despite difficult geopolitical realities.
His comments followed reports of a nearly five-hour meeting between Putin and a US delegation that included US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov was cited by Russian outlets as saying the talks produced no compromise on Ukraine.
Putin is scheduled to visit India on December 4-5 for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at an investment forum in Moscow, Putin said Russia aims to lift cooperation with China and India to a qualitatively new level by strengthening technological ties across energy, industry, space, agriculture and other sectors.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the possible sale of additional S-400 long-range air-defence systems could be discussed during the visit, and indicated that talks on the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter might also be on the agenda. Peskov highlighted ongoing defence collaboration such as the BrahMos missile program and said there was a possibility of an agreement on nuclear energy between India and Russia during the summit.
