TODAY: Putin seals arms deals with India; U.S. adoption ban legislation passes through Duma; Russian presence in Syria would hinder U.S. intervention; third criminal case opened against Alexei Navalny; E.U. summit clashes; Lukoil will not join West Qurna project.

President Vladimir Putin made a successful visit to India, sealing $2.9 billion worth of arms deals, boosting military cooperation that had suffered in recent years as a result of unfulfilled agreements and lost tenders.  Praising ‘unique, special and privileged’ relations between the two, Putin also expressed hopes that Russia would be permitted to build nuclear power plants in India, and says he is committed to doubling bilateral trade by 2015.  As expected, the State Duma approved the law banning U.S. citizens from adopting Russian children in a 420-7 vote on Friday, although it still needs the president’s approval.  An online petition urging the U.S. government to add the names of legislators who support the bill to the Magnitsky List has received 32,000 signatures.  ‘It is well-known that the chances a child will die after being adopted by a family in Russia are almost 40 times higher than if adopted by a family in the West,’ argues Victor Davidoff.  Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is urging lawmakers not to cancel the original U.S.-Russia adoption agreement, even though he supports the bill.