Putin is arriving for the 13th India-Russia Annual Summit meeting with the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

The Summit meeting was earlier scheduled two months earlier but was postponed as Russia informed of Putin being busy in domestic activities. However, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin visited India on October 10 and drew up the agenda for Putin’s upcoming visit.

While India is interested in striking a deal with the energy-rich Russia on hydrocarbons, the latter is keen in striking a deal for a multi-million defence purchases by India.

Russia is keen on pushing a deal for sale of fighter jets and aircraft engines worth some $7 billion, including 42 Sukhoi SU-30MKI worth Rs 20,000 crore, 71 Mi-17V5 choppers worth Rs 7,000 crore, long-term supply of 970 war plane, two additional IL 76 based Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS), product of joint collaboration between Russia and Israel, worth Rs 3,306 crore, 25,000 anti-tank missiles worth Rs 4,000 crore.

India and Russia are likely to discuss details of the fifth generation fighter aircraft currently under development in Russia. India wants joint development of an Indian variant of the stealth fighter. But according to sources an agreement of this joint development may not be signed on Putin’s visit as certain contentious issues are yet to be ironed out.

An agreement on Kundankulam 3 and 4 projects will not be signed as the techno-commercial report is not yet prepared. Russia maintains that India’s new nuclear liability regime should not apply to these two upcoming projects as it did not apply to Kundankulan 1 and 2 projects. Kundankulam 1 and 2 projects are “grandpa” of Kundankulam 3 and 4 projects.

India is of the view that Kundankulam 1 and 2 projects were formulated when the new nuclear liability regime was not enacted and as the new regime has come into existence it would apply to upcoming projects.

“As far as the agreement on Kudankulam 3 and 4 is concerned, we have an umbrella agreement with the Russian Federation. Now for specific units of Kudankulam that will be directly negotiated and signed by the organization that is responsible for the power plant. But that is not something that needs to be or would require to be done at the level of President Putin,” said the Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

The Russian Ambassador to India Alexander M Kadakin, expressing his dissatisfaction over the cancellation of 2G licence to the Russian telecom major Sistema by the order of Supreme Court has said the issue was not “a judicial matter but political.”

Sistema has claimed that its $3 billion investment in India is at stake. Kadakin said that India has the obligation to protect Russian investment in India as both the countries have signed a bilateral investment protection treaty.

However the Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid shot back and said : “The sovereign guarantee issue, the bilateral investment treaties, are all issues on which are extremely concerned because there are two things. One is the consequences of having to pay enormous amounts that may come by way of international arbitrations. The other thing is that a guarantee or a treaty is something that you sign because you are committed to that position. Now the structure of our government and the structure of our state, and the separation of powers that exists in our state under the Constitution is something we cannot wish away. It may not be exactly the same for other countries and other Constitutions. Therefore, something that is done by courts in our country may be seen by them as being done by the state. “

He said that the Government, through a Presidential Reference has sought the advisory opinion of the Supreme Court on honouring international obligations.

“We are bound by judgments of the court. Because of the difficulty that we felt understanding the law of the land, we went for an advisory opinion. In my understanding of the advisory opinion that has been being given, there were several questions to be answered. The court had said they will answer four questions. According to the judgment itself they answered five. But close reading of the judgment indicates that they answered only four questions. So, there are important, significant questions, particularly the fifth question i.e., what in crafting relief should the courts do when there are international obligations? This answer is not specifically made available in the Supreme Court judgment. When the Supreme Court opens, and this is brought to the notice of the Chief Justice and the Supreme Court, they might want to take a fresh look at this. In the absence of Supreme Court giving us very clear guidance on this, there is not any executive that can be taken,” he said

However, Khurshid said that a number of agreements are likely to be signed on Putin’s visit, including trade which is important.