Key Points
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi breaks bread with Russian President Vladimir Putin at his dacha on Monday, an invisible dragon, and not an elephant, will be in the room..
As Moscow's embrace of Beijing gets tighter, India will look to Russia's influence in modulating China's behaviour...
As Modi attends the private dinner with Putin at his dacha (Russian for cottage) on the outskirts of Moscow on Monday, he will be looking at Russia's pull in influencing China's behaviour...
However, the hands-off approach that the USSR took during the 1962 Sino-Indian War remains a worry, more so with Russia now seemingly becoming dependent on China...
Strategic expert Brahma Chellaney believes it is India that can convince Russia to not align too closely with China..
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