Moscow, Sep 19: Chief of Army Staff General Dhiraj Seth has concluded his three-day official visit to Russia, during which he held talks with senior Russian military leaders and visited key military institutions, Indian military officials said on Saturday. The visit, which concluded on Friday, gave fresh impetus to India-Russia defence cooperation, with discussions focused on capability development, training exchanges, artillery modernisation and sharing operational experience, the officials said.

In Moscow, Seth met General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation. The discussions covered joint capability development, professional military exchanges and avenues to expand military-to-military engagement, they said.

At the headquarters of the Russian Land Forces, Seth exchanged views on contemporary military developments and discussed measures to deepen cooperation between the two armies, particularly in training, capability development and sharing professional experience. During his visit to St Petersburg, Seth visited the Mikhailovskaya Military Artillery Academy and interacted with its faculty on training methodologies and artillery modernisation.

He was also accorded the unique honour of firing the traditional cannon at the historic Peter and Paul Fortress, the officials said. In Moscow, Seth received a ceremonial Guard of Honour and paid homage at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a national war memorial honouring Soviet soldiers who died during World War II.

The visit reinforced the enduring trust between India and Russia and underlined their shared commitment to sustained military diplomacy, institutional exchanges and mutually beneficial professional cooperation, the officials said. Russia accounted for 40% of India’s arms imports between 2021 and 2025, making it the country’s largest arms supplier during the period, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Seth’s visit came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi. The two leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation across political, economic, defence, energy, space and other sectors during their meeting last week.