MODI WELCOMES PUTIN AS RUSSIA AND INDIA FACE MOUNTING INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE

Thu 04 December 2025:

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his inaugural trip to India since 2021, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the enduring, reliable relationship between their countries.

This journey precedes the duo’s joint leadership of the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, scheduled for Friday in New Delhi.

Defense, energy, nuclear cooperation, payment mechanisms, the BRICS bloc they founded, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are among issues they are likely to discuss.

“Delighted to welcome my friend, President Putin to India,” Modi said on US social media company X. “Looking forward to our interactions later this evening and tomorrow. India-Russia friendship is a time tested one that has greatly benefitted our people.”

After Modi welcomed his guest, he and Putin took official cars from the airport to the Indian prime minister’s official residence for a private dinner late Thursday.

Putin’s visit, also the first since the Ukraine war began in February 2022, comes as New Delhi faces mounting pressure from the US to halt purchases of Russian oil.

Washington has imposed a 50% tariff on Indian imports, partly for purchasing Russian oil amid the continuing war.

Putin and Modi will also address a business forum as India and Russia aim to boost the current bilateral trade volume of $68.7 billion-nearly six times higher than pre-pandemic levels-to $100 billion.

Putin is accompanied by a large group of businesspeople.

“The visit will go a long way in strengthening economic cooperation,” a source in the Indian government told Anadolu.

New Delhi expects to improve the trade deficit with Russia as “multiple avenues are being worked out to increase Indian exports to Russia,” the source said, pointing to pharmaceuticals, automobiles, and agricultural products (including marine products) among areas for India to boost its exports.

The two sides are also expected to sign multiple agreements and memorandums of understanding in the field of shipping, healthcare, fertilizers, and connectivity.

Putin will be hosted by his Indian counterpart Droupadi Murmu for a presidential dinner before his departure late Friday.

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The question of oil

Growing economic cooperation and bilateral trade between the two countries is also likely to be on the table at the summit. At an event on Tuesday with leading Russian economists, Putin emphasised Russia’s plan to take its cooperation with China and India “to a qualitatively new level”, flying in the face of western sanctions.

The question of oil also looms large. While Modi has insisted that India would continue to buy Russian oil, newly imposed sanctions by the US and EU which threaten companies that buy from Russia have led to a notable slowdown in purchases by the Indian private sector. Meanwhile, in a move seen as an attempt to appease Trump, India has agreed to import more US oil and gas.

In a briefing this week, Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, acknowledged “obstacles” in economic and energy cooperation between the two countries but said they would continue uninterrupted. Western sanctions would cause only “insignificant drops and decreases” in how much oil Russia exports to India, and only “for a very brief time”, said Peskov, adding that Moscow possessed the technology to circumvent sanctions in the long run.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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