It’s not all the time that India’s Prime Minister welcomes a foreign head of the state at the arrival area of airport. The standard protocol is that the foreign dignitaries would usually be welcomed by senior Ministers, officials or designated protocol officers. So, a lot can be said about the importance of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, when he was welcomed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself at the Palam Airport in Delhi on December 4.

In a gesture that is widely seen as a break from diplomatic protocol, Modi received Putin at the airport with a hug amid a group of artistes performing traditional dances. From the airport, the two leaders travelled to Modi's official residence in his car, nearly three months after the Prime Minister drove with Putin in the Russian

See Full Page