India, Dec. 4 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Russian President Vladimir Putin at Delhi's Palam airport on Thursday evening with a big hug. This marked the beginning of Putin's first visit to India in over four years.

Putin would later attend a dinner hosted by PM Modi, as per his schedule.

The longtime Russian leader is in India for the 23rd Annual India-Russia Summit, which will be held on Friday. This is Putin's first visit to India also after the conflict in Ukraine began in 2022. The last time he visited the country was in December 2021.

Putin in India LIVE: Follow updates as Russian Prez meets PM Modi

Russia's state-run broadcaster TASS earlier reported that Putin departed for his state visit to India around noon (India...