Russia, India to sign deal on S-400 air defence systems this week: Kremlin
India has signalled it will ask Washington for a special waiver from sanctions
(AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will oversee the signing of a $5 billion deal this week to supply Delhi with S-400 air defence systems, a top Kremlin aide said on Tuesday ahead of Putin s trip to India.
"The president is leaving for India on October 4," Putin s top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.
"The key feature of this visit will be the signing of the agreement to deliver S-400 air defence systems," he said. "The value of the contract will be more than $5 billion."
Moscow has been negotiating to sell the S-400 long-range surface-to-air missiles to India for months.
The sale has irked India s defence partner Washington, which has wanted to wean India off Russian technology, and a senior Pentagon official said in August that sanctions against India would come under consideration if its purchase goes through.
India has signalled it will ask Washington for a special waiver from sanctions, though a US official last week said there is no guarantee it would do so.
