Kudankulam, defence, energy top Manmohan-Putin talks

On the third and fourth reactors, on which a commercial deal has got stuck due to concerns over India's civil liability laws, Putin said both sides "have plans to construct the third and fourth units".

Manmohan Singh said that "we have directed our officials to resolve all outstanding issues at the earliest".

Sujatha Singh, addressing newspersons later, said the first unit is to produce 300 MW of electricity from Monday night. She said there were "legal issues" concerning the third and fourth units which were being sorted out.

The joint statement mentions that besides units three and four, both sides have agreed to cooperate "in the construction of additional nuclear power plant units at Kudankulam site as well as in the construction of Russian designed Nuclear Power Plants at new sites in the Republic of India".

Taking major steps to enhance energy cooperation, both sides have decided to set up a joint study group to examine the possibility of directly transporting hydrocarbons to India through the land route.

While India already has stakes in the Sakhalin and Tomsk fields for hydrocarbons, India and Russia have also decided to jointly explore for oil and gas in the Arctic region.