New Delhi, India – Underneath a thick blanket of smog on the earth’s most polluted metropolis, the leaders of Russia and India placed on a show of diplomatic resilience, projecting a message that their bilateral partnership stays insulated from widening world fractures.
On the Russia-India annual bilateral summit in New Delhi – in opposition to a backdrop of intensifying Western stress, punctuated by current United States tariff threats and the continued negotiations to finish Russia’s warfare in Ukraine – the 2 leaders framed their relationship as a stabilising pressure.
Whereas Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the 2 international locations’ relations as “steadfast like a pole star”, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin showered reward on his Indian counterpart for resisting “exterior stress” and investing within the shared bond.
In a uncommon break from protocol, Modi was current on the airport in Delhi to obtain Putin on Thursday night time, and shared the automobile experience again to the Indian PM’s residence for dinner, in what has come to be often called “limo diplomacy” as Putin usually makes use of his Aurus limousine to carry talks.
On Friday, memorandums of understanding have been exchanged between a number of ministers from all sides, increasing commerce and cooperation in numerous sectors, from power to agriculture and prescription drugs.
The offers, Modi mentioned, would take “India-Russia financial partnership to new heights” underneath the India-Russia financial cooperation programme till 2030. The international locations have agreed on an formidable commerce goal of $100bn.
And, in a significant sign to the West, Putin mentioned: “Russia is prepared for uninterrupted shipments of gas to India.” Importing Russian crude has put India in a geopolitical bind and soured relations with the US, which believes it’s financing the warfare in Ukraine. Earlier this 12 months, US President Donald Trump hit India with a further commerce tariff of 25 p.c – bringing the overall to 50 p.c on Indian items exported to the US – due to its persevering with buy of Russian oil.
So, what have been the primary takeaways from this summit?
India and Russia affirmed their deep ties
The summit offered a platform for the 2 international locations to succeed in a slew of commerce agreements spanning jobs, well being, delivery and chemical compounds.
Nonetheless, analysts mentioned the summit was extra essential as a present of political messaging.
“The most important takeaway from the summit is the signalling that neither aspect has any intention to dilute this relationship, and is able to stand up to any exterior stress,” mentioned Harsh Pant, a geopolitics analyst at New Delhi-based assume tank, the Observer Analysis Basis.
Furthermore, Pant mentioned: “The try is to construct the financial partnership, past oil and defence.” And with out that, he added, “the bilateral relationship just isn’t attentive to at this time’s realities”.
Robinder Sachdev, president of the Imagindia Institute, a Delhi-based assume tank, mentioned that the summit holds “excessive significance for the larger willingness on the a part of each Russia and India to turbocharge this relationship”.
“Each side wish to enhance their engagement past simply government-to-government offers, in oil and defence sectors, and increase people-to-people ties,” mentioned Sachdev. “That may be the largest string on this bilateral relationship.”
Neither chief took questions after their media statements, which Putin concluded by saying that the Russian delegation was happy with agreements that can “deepen” the bilateral partnership.
Putin added that, together with different BRICS international locations – a rising bloc of rising economies – India and Russia are selling a “extra simply” and “multipolar” world. Putin additionally underlined the shut bond that he shared with Modi by referring to their “shut working dialogue” and “common” telephone calls.
In his assertion, Modi mentioned the 2 international locations’ “Financial Cooperation Programme” is designed to diversify, stability, and make commerce and funding sustainable, and additional increase export, co-production, and co-innovation alternatives.
“Each side are working in the direction of the early conclusion of a Free Commerce Settlement with the Eurasian Financial Union,” Modi added.
Modi additionally mentioned that rising the “connectivity” between Moscow and New Delhi is a “main precedence for us”, noting that power safety has been a “robust and essential pillar” of bilateral relations.
Modi additionally talked about the opening of two new Indian consulates in Russia final month, and launched two new 30-day visa schemes that might be made out there for Russian vacationers in India quickly.
Modi mentioned he had mentioned the warfare in Ukraine with Putin and conveyed that India has “stood for peace because the starting”.
“India and Russia have lengthy supported one another, and labored shoulder to shoulder within the combat in opposition to terrorism,” mentioned Modi, mentioning the April assault in Kashmir and the assault on Crocus Metropolis Corridor in Moscow in 2024.
India didn’t stress Russia over Ukraine
Russia and India have held an annual bilateral summit since 2000, for which the Indian prime minister visits Russia one 12 months, and the Russian president returns the go to the next 12 months. It was paused following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and solely resumed in 2024 when Modi visited Russia.
In the end, the Russian president’s 30-hour flying go to to Delhi sends a transparent message to different world leaders amid rising stress on him to conclude a peace cope with Ukraine. Putin is saying: “Moscow just isn’t alone, and the efforts to isolate the Kremlin have failed”, consultants say.
Ukraine’s allies in Europe and the US had hoped New Delhi would persuade Putin to conform to a peace deal. Nonetheless, India didn’t name on Russia to finish the warfare, though PM Modi appeared to reiterate his earlier place that “this isn’t an period of warfare”.
“India is on the aspect of peace,” the Indian prime minister mentioned throughout discussions between the 2 leaders at Hyderabad Home in Delhi on Friday.
“The world ought to return to peace, and we help each effort in the direction of peace,” mentioned Modi, including, “India-Russia relations ought to develop and contact new heights.”
Expressing his gratitude to Modi, Putin mentioned, “The 2 nations even have relations within the army sphere, in area growth, synthetic intelligence, and different areas … and we intend to maneuver ahead in all these areas.”
India is strolling a tightrope between Russia and the West
New Delhi is at the moment caught in a precarious geopolitical equation, a actuality that has starkly examined the scope of India’s international coverage.
On one aspect, India faces an more and more coercive United States and its punitive commerce tariffs. The Trump administration accuses India of successfully financing Putin’s warfare machine in Ukraine by shopping for crude oil.
The warfare in Ukraine, nonetheless, has examined the friendship between Moscow and New Delhi – a relationship that goes again a long time.
Since its independence from Britain in 1947, India has prevented changing into locked into formal alliances with any superpower, main the non-aligned motion in the course of the Chilly Struggle. In actuality, nonetheless, it drifted nearer to the then-Soviet Union from the Sixties.
For the reason that finish of the Chilly Struggle, India has deepened strategic and army ties with the US whereas making an attempt to maintain its friendship with Russia afloat.
India stays the highest purchaser of Russian arsenal. And India’s dependence on the Russian army sector was lately made obvious throughout New Delhi’s four-day clashes with Pakistan, with real-time reliance on Russian platforms such because the S-400 missile system and Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters.
Investing in ties with Moscow and internet hosting Putin right now permits New Delhi some leverage in a fragmented world order and maintains what it calls “strategic autonomy” to pursue its “multi-alignment” international coverage.
The Delhi summit allowed the leaders to double down on that “neither aspect needs to convey this relationship down, and each side wish to make investments diplomatic capital,” mentioned Pant, of the ORF.
“The extra Trump and his administration goal India, the extra it makes the case in India as to why the connection with Russia is essential,” he added.
Putin was defiant over US stress on oil
The Russian president mentioned that regardless of Western sanctions in opposition to Moscow and the imposition of the White Home’s punishing tariffs on India for importing Russian oil, the bilateral power cooperation largely “stays unaffected”.
Putin informed broadcaster India At the moment that Washington continues to purchase Russian nuclear gas for energy crops.
“That can also be gas; uranium for the reactors working within the US. If the US has the precise to purchase our gas, why shouldn’t India have the identical privilege?” mentioned the Russian president. “This query deserves thorough examination, and we stand prepared to debate it, together with with President (Donald) Trump.”
India-Russia commerce has undergone a significant shift since 2022, ballooning from a modest $10bn to a report almost $69bn this 12 months, primarily fuelled by New Delhi’s urge for food for discounted Russian crude oil.
Nonetheless, these numbers stay lopsided: Indian exports, largely prescription drugs and equipment, stand at roughly $5bn, leading to a widening $64bn commerce deficit.
Moreover, the newest official knowledge from India’s commerce ministry reveals that India diminished its crude imports from Russia by 38 p.c in worth in contrast with final 12 months, down from a report excessive $5.8bn final 12 months to $3.55bn this October.
Regardless of all this, Russia nonetheless accounts for simply above 30 p.c of India’s complete oil imports by worth and quantity.
Whereas noting that the import numbers have come down, Putin careworn that commerce stays “unaffected by present situations, fleeting political swings or the tragic occasions in Ukraine” and added that Russian companies had constructed a strong and environment friendly industrial relationship with India, one based mostly on mutual belief.
What else was mentioned on the sidelines of the summit?
Putin landed in New Delhi with an entourage which included Andrei Belousov, his defence minister, and a big delegation from enterprise and business, together with prime executives of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport.
Belousov met his Indian counterpart, Rajnath Singh, at New Delhi’s Manekshaw Centre on Thursday, earlier than the twenty third India-Russia Annual Summit.
Whereas Singh seemed to additional the Indian authorities’s intention to construct capability in its indigenous defence business, the Russian defence minister emphasised “the Russian defence business’s [readiness] to help India in the direction of changing into self-reliant within the subject of defence manufacturing”, a joint assertion learn.
A Russian delegation additionally expressed curiosity in importing fishery and meat merchandise from India and resolving market entry points, the Indian authorities mentioned in a separate assertion following a gathering between agriculture ministers on the sidelines.
India exported fishery merchandise value $7.45bn final 12 months; nonetheless, a smaller share of $127m headed to Russia.
Geopolitical analysts famous that the summit leaves New Delhi hoping for a faster peace deal on Ukraine, with a view to free its strategic accomplice from world stress.
And when that occurs, “peace within the area would offer a window of alternative for India to maneuver quick and increase exports and enterprise offers with Russia”, mentioned Sachdev. “And beat Western nations to the race, who would additionally finally return to Russia.”
