India and Russia are set to sign $5 billion contract for the supply of S-400 surface-to-air missile system during Russian President Vladimir Putin's New Delhi visit later this week.
Putin will be arriving on a two-day India trip on October 4.
News agency AFP Putin's top foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov, as saying that the key feature of President's visit will be the signing of the agreement to deliver S-400 air defence systems.
The confirmation over the mega deal comes just a couple of days after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman negotiations between the two countries were in the last stage.
"Negotiation on S-400 air defence systems has been on for a long while and it is at a stage where it can be finalised. We have a big legacy of buying defence equipment from Russia," Sitharaman said had told reporters in Chennai last week.
India wants to procure the long-range missile systems to tighten its air defence mechanism, particularly along the nearly 4,000-km-long China-India border.
In 2016, India and Russia had signed an agreement on the 'Triumf' interceptor-based missile system which can destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km. S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.
China was the first foreign buyer to seal a government-to-government deal with Russia in 2014 to procure the lethal missile system and Moscow has already started delivery of unknown number of the S-400 missile systems to Beijing.
There has been mounting concerns in India over the US sanctions against Russian defence majors including Rosoboronexport as billions of dollars of military purchases may be impacted because of the punitive measure.
The US had announced sanctions against Russia under the stringent law for its alleged meddling in the American presidential election in 2016.
(With inputs from agencies)
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