India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Russia's President Vladimir Putin Friday, with defence and trade ties centre stage as New Delhi faces heavy US pressure to stop buying Moscow's oil.

Putin was given a red carpet welcome with honour guard and 21-gun salute at the presidential palace in New Delhi, before a formal summit meeting with Modi began.

Big ticket defence sales and co-production ventures, energy purchases, and wider economic engagement are on the agenda, Putin's first visit to India since the Ukraine war.

Putin, sitting beside Modi at the start of talks, said he expected a "fruitful" day tackling a "a great number of documents", including in areas of defence, technology, aircraft and space exploration.

Both leaders will discuss the geopolitical situation in the wake of

See Full Page