India and Russia to sign 12 key agreements during Vladimir Putin's visit

India and Russia are expected to sign more than dozen key agreements across sectors ranging from defence, banking and nuclear energy when President Vladimir Putin visits New Delhi next week.

The Russian leader is set to visit India to hold an annual bilateral summit on 10 and 11 December. This will be Putin's first visit to India after pro-business Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over office.

"The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir V Putin, will pay an official visit to India on 10-11 December, 2014, for the 15th Annual India-Russia Summit," read an official statement from Moscow.

Putin will also address the Indian parliament.

On the sidelines of the key trip, the two leaders are to ink anywhere between 15 and 20 agreements pertaining to strategically important fields, suggest reports.

An unnamed Indian official from the Ministry of External Affairs was quoted as saying during a press briefing that Russia and India will discuss envisioning long-term strategic ties. The current bilateral trade between the two nations estimated to worth about $10 billion (£6.42bn).

The Russia-India gas pipeline and the expansion of Kudankulam nuclear plant are likely to prominently feature in the talks.

The US, which would be keenly watching any development in the bilateral relations, has insisted Putin's visit would not cast a shadow on President Barack Obama's trip to India in January.

"As we have said before, now is not the time for business as usual with Russia. We have conveyed this certainly to our allies and to our partners across the world," US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters.

When asked whether Putin's visit will have any impact on Obama's tour, she said: "It's not, not at all. Broadly speaking, that's our position on doing business with Russia.

"But again, India is a very, very close partner. Let's see what comes out of the actual visit, but we're confident things will continue as they are."