Russian President Vladimir Putin is in New Delhi for talks expected to include terrorism, defense cooperation and the Iraq crisis.
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee hosted a dinner in Mr. Putin's honor shortly after his arrival. They begin formal talks on Wednesday.
The two sides are expected to set up a panel of experts to coordinate their anti-terrorism efforts.
Russia is India's main arms supplier and the Indian Express newspaper reports that India's navy plans to lease a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia. The two sides are also negotiating India's offer to buy a refurbished aircraft carrier from Russia.
Mr. Putin arrived in New Delhi from Beijing where he cautioned that the world faces new dangers from terrorism, arms sales and extremist organizations.
Mr. Putin told an audience at Peking University in Beijing that these problems should not be resolved through a show of force by any one country. Although he did not refer to the United States by name, Mr. Putin has said many times before that the United States should seek a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Iraq.
The Russian leader also repeated his government's opposition to the expansion of NATO into the Baltic region. He said that expansion does not enhance international security.