Peskov: Su-57 technology transfer and new nuclear plants are on Friday’s Modi-Putin agenda

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, 11 September, in New Delhi, the day before India opens the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit at Bharat Mandapam. Peskov told reporters that India has asked for technology transfer on the Su-57 fighter and that the request is under discussion. Moscow, he added, is waiting for talks on new nuclear power plants in India. Rare earth exploration is also on the table.

The visit would be Putin’s first trip to India in seven years. Peskov called India a strategic partner and said most of the two countries’ payments already run in national currencies. In a separate briefing he said BRICS members now conduct about 90% of their mutual transactions in national currencies. He also said a list of Indians who had been drawn into Russian military service is being prepared so they can be sent home.

What India has and has not accepted

Putin offered India the Su-57 and joint production in June, telling PTI that there would be no restrictions if New Delhi wanted to develop the aircraft together. Indian officials did not close the door. Hindustan Aeronautics has been in touch with the Sukhoi design bureau. The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft is not expected in Indian Air Force service before 2035. Officials have looked at two squadrons, about 36 aircraft, if the jet meets technical tests. India walked away from an earlier joint fifth-generation project with Russia after more than a decade of talks.

A parallel track covers the existing Su-30MKI fleet. India is already converting 84 aircraft into Super Sukhois under a Rs 63,000 crore programme. An additional upgrade covering more than 100 airframes has been discussed, with Russian specialists visiting HAL Nashik. Those talks sit beside the Friday agenda rather than replacing it.

The summit around the meeting

India holds the BRICS chair this year under the theme Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability. The leaders’ sessions run on 12 and 13 September. Expected subjects include trade, finance, energy, technology and votes in global institutions. The Modi-Putin meeting is scheduled first, which puts bilateral defence and nuclear files ahead of the wider group photograph.

Peskov’s wording is useful because it is specific. He did not announce a signed fighter contract. He said technology transfer is under discussion. He did not announce a new reactor site. He said Moscow is waiting for negotiations on plants. Those two sentences, plus the payment-currency claim and the date of the bilateral, are the public record of what Russia wants on the table when Putin lands.