India, Russia leaders meet to deepen defence, trade ties

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi walk prior to an informal dinner at Modi's residence in New Delhi on December 4, 2025, the first day of the Russian leader's two-day state visit to India. (Photo by Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP)

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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosts Russia’s President Vladimir Putin at a summit on Friday, with defence and trade ties centre stage as New Delhi faces heavy US pressure to stop buying Moscow’s oil.

Both leaders will also discuss the geopolitical situation in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and global trade disruptions triggered by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Big ticket defence sales and co-production ventures, energy purchases, and wider economic engagement are on the agenda, Putin’s first visit to India since the Ukraine war.

Modi welcomed Putin at the airport on Thursday with a warm hug on a red carpet, before the two rode together in the same car to a private dinner — mirroring a lift that Putin gave Modi when they last met in China in September.

“India-Russia friendship is a time-tested one that has greatly benefitted our people,” Modi wrote in a post on social media, accompanying a photograph of them grinning together inside the vehicle.

It was a symbolic show of friendship, after US President Donald Trump imposed 50-percent tariffs on most Indian products in August, citing Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil — revenue Washington argues helps fund the war in Ukraine.

In an interview with India Today, Putin said he was “very happy” to be meeting “my friend” Modi.

“The range of our cooperation with India is huge,” he said in remarks translated by the broadcaster, citing ship and aircraft manufacturing, nuclear energy and space exploration.

“This visit is part of India’s diversification strategy, both in terms of strategic and economic, especially at a time when the US tariffs have hurt India,” Ashok Malik of business consultancy The Asia Group told AFP.

On Friday, Putin is due to be given an honour guard welcome at the presidential palace in New Delhi, before meeting with Modi.

India is walking a diplomatic tightrope — relying on strategic Russian oil imports while trying not to provoke Trump during ongoing tariff negotiations.

“Balancing acts are second nature to Indian foreign policy making”, wrote Pankaj Saran, a former Indian envoy to Russia, writing in the Times of India.

The leaders will also address business and industry leaders before Putin attends a state banquet hosted by the Indian President Droupadi Murmu.

India, the world’s most populous nation, has become a major buyer of Russian oil, saving itself billions of dollars and providing Moscow with a much-needed export market after it was cut off from traditional buyers in Europe because of the war.

Putin also told India Today that Modi is “not someone who gives in to pressure”, when asked about the impact of US tariffs.

The Russian share of India’s arms imports fell from 76 percent in 2009-13 to 36 percent in 2019-23, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Besides discussions around cutting-edge defence hardware, which includes air defence systems, fighter jets, and nuclear submarines, New Delhi will push for easier access to the wider Russian market.

Bilateral trade reached $68.7 billion in 2024-25 — almost six times higher than the pre-pandemic levels –, but Indian exports accounted for only $4.88 billion.

The two countries are expected to announce an agreement on easier mobility of Indian workers into Russia.

AFP

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