Russia, India to sign $5-bn deal for S-400 air defence systems this week

Putin's top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said the Russian President would oversee the signing of the agreement

A contract for the supply of five regiments of Russia's S-400 air defense missile systems to India worth $5 billion will be signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to India, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov told reporters on Tuesday.

This comes a day after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin will address the issue of defense industry cooperation during his visit to India.

"Putin will indeed visit India, an official visit of the President of Russia will take place. Indeed, a whole range of documents is expected to be signed, and indeed the issue of defense industry cooperation will be on the agenda. I cannot provide any further details," Peskov had told reporters on Monday.

Elaborating further about the defense industry cooperation, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov talked about the S-400 Triumf system being the key feature of the visit.

"The key feature of this visit will be the signing of a contract for the supply of the S-400 Triumf air defense missile system consisting of five regiments. The deal is worth over $5 billion," he said.

"Certainly, special attention during the conversation in a narrow format will be paid to defense industry cooperation, which is one of the active components of our cooperation. The countries jointly develop and manufacture modern military products," he added.

The Kremlin press service announced last week that the Russian president would pay an official visit to India on October 4 and 5.