Russia reveals India's big asks ahead of Modi-Putin meet: Su-57 tech, nuclear plants and more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 11, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in New Delhi, with defence, trade, nuclear energy and emerging areas of cooperation expected to feature in discussions.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, speaking to reporters in Moscow on Tuesday, confirmed that the two leaders are scheduled to meet during Putin's India visit.

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"We're looking forward to the President and Prime Minister having another bilateral meeting during the visit. It is scheduled for Friday, so first, like always, they will touch on the bilateral agenda. Trade and economic cooperation is a very wide scope."

Peskov also said India and Russia are discussing technology transfer for Russia's Su-57 fighter aircraft, while cooperation in rare earth exploration is also under discussion between the two countries.

"India has been asking for technology transfer for SU-57 and that is under discussion," the Kremlin spokesperson said.

The two sides are also expected to discuss nuclear energy, with Moscow awaiting further negotiations with New Delhi on setting up new nuclear power plants.

"We are waiting for negotiations with India on setting up new nuclear plants," Peskov said.

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Peskov said Putin's visit would provide an opportunity to deepen bilateral cooperation, pointing to the close working relationship between the Russian and Indian leaders.

"In a couple of days, President Putin will begin his India visit. You know that our two leaders, Indian and Russian leaders, are in a very close personal contact. They are very pragmatic in their relationship, and they are as sincere as to be able to discuss in a very open and constructive way the most sensitive issues of our agenda and our bilateral relations. Of course, it opens additional horizons for our cooperation."

The Kremlin spokesperson also said Russia supports India's efforts to strengthen cooperation within BRICS and expressed confidence that the summit would be successful.

"We have no doubt that the summit will be successful. Russia, we are doing our best to contribute to further development of BRICS cooperation in the three main pillars of our interaction. So, those are policy and security, economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian contexts. So, we are supporting the idea of inviting new countries to join different formats within BRICS," he noted.

On the financial side, Peskov highlighted the growing use of national currencies in trade between Russia and BRICS countries. He said around 90% of Russia's payments and transactions with BRICS members are now conducted in national currencies.

"The cooperation space within BRICS financial sphere is of great importance. Russia recently reached a level of 90 percent of all the payments, all the transactions with BRICS countries being made in national currencies, it's very important. It's not because we are aiming for de-dollarization, for getting rid of U.S. dollars. To the contrary, we are open to every acceptable method of payment, but you know that certain countries are using some national currencies as a tool for political oppression. They are introducing sanctions based on their national currencies. So, if they don't let us use their money, we use our own money," Peskov said.

Peskov also said Russia welcomes India's willingness to contribute to efforts aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict.

"We welcome willingness of Indian side to contribute," the Russian presidential spokesperson said, referring to efforts towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Putin's visit comes ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 12-13. India is chairing the grouping this year under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability".

The summit is expected to focus on strengthening cooperation across trade, finance, energy, technology, healthcare, agriculture, climate action and other areas.

India's BRICS chairship has outlined four broad priorities: resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability, with an emphasis on practical cooperation in areas including artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, green finance, energy transition, startups and support for micro, small and medium enterprises.

The BRICS grouping was initially formed as BRIC, comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China. It held its first Foreign Ministers' meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in 2006 and its first summit in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009. South Africa joined the grouping in 2011, turning it into BRICS.

The grouping has since expanded its agenda to include economic and financial cooperation, trade, development financing and coordination on global issues.

On trade, BRICS members have advanced the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2030 and adopted the BRICS Global Value Chains Action Plan 2026-2030, alongside principles aimed at supporting export-oriented micro, small and medium enterprises.