Russia is helping China to build a missile attack warning system, something which only Russia itself and the United States possess at the moment, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. "This is a serious thing that will drastically increase the defence capabilities of the People's Republic of China," he told an international politics conference in the Russian resort town of Sochi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia from September 4 to 5 during which he will hold a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and attend the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, the External Affairs Ministry announced on Monday. Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, at a media briefing, said the visit will be a short one, lasting about 36 hours.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he has ordered the military to prepare a "symmetric response" after Washington tested a formerly banned missile. Putin said he had ordered an analysis of "the level of threat for our country created by the actions of the US and to take comprehensive measures to prepare a symmetric response".