New Delhi, Dec. 4 -- Former Foreign Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Thursday said the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit will mark a significant expansion of bilateral ties between the two nations, as discussions are expected to be moving decisively beyond traditional sectors of energy and defence into new and unexplored areas of cooperation.

Speaking to ANI ahead of Putin's two-day state visit to India after almost four years, Shringla noted that the Russian President's visit for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, accompanied by a high-level delegation, including seven ministers--among them the finance minister, defence minister, and the governor of Russia'...