India, Nov. 28 -- President Vladimir Putin will be on a state visit to New Delhi on December 4-5 for the annual India-Russia summit, and hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited Russia last year for the annual summit, the external affairs ministry announced on Friday.

The trip will provide the two sides an opportunity to review bilateral ties against the backdrop of US pressure to reduce purchases of Russian energy and military hardware.

This will be Putin's first visit to India since the start of the Ukraine invasion in February 2022, and several big-ticket deals and understandings are expected to be unveiled during the summit on December 5, people familiar with the matter said. Putin last travelled to India in 2021 fo...