India and Russia on Thursday agreed to expand their bilateral defence cooperation, with New Delhi indicating strong interest in procuring additional batches of S-400 missile systems to further strengthen its combat capabilities.

The decision came during high-level delegation talks between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart, Andrey Belousov, held a day before the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on Thursday night ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During the discussions, Singh highlighted India’s focus on strengthening its indigenous defence industry, both for domestic requirements and exports, while identifying new avenues for collaboration in niche and advanced defence technologies. Both

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