NEW DELHI: Three Russian transport aircraft touched down at Noida International Airport on Thursday as world leaders began arriving in India ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit. The aircraft arrivals come a day ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expected visit to New Delhi for the summit.Putin is also likely to hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, September 11, before the multilateral event scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 12 and 13.Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had earlier confirmed that the meeting between Putin and PM Modi was scheduled for Friday. Speaking to reporters during a virtual briefing from Moscow, Peskov said, “We’re looking forward to the President and Prime Minister having another bilateral meeting during the visit. It is scheduled. 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 said Putin’s India visit would provide an opportunity for the two sides to discuss bilateral relations and expand cooperation. He also expressed hope that India would successfully host the Brics summit.“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,” Peskov said.
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On the Brics summit, he said Russia was working to support greater cooperation among member countries across key areas.“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.India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 12 and 13, 2026. The summit is being held under the theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”