Narendra Modi’s red carpet welcome for Vladimir Putin during his two-day visit highlighted India’s determination to safeguard crucial oil and defence priorities.
It also underscored New Delhi’s pursuit of an independent foreign and security policy, despite heightened US and western criticism of its ties with Moscow throughout the Ukraine war and its resulting diplomatic isolation.
For Moscow, the trip offered an opportunity for Putin to demonstrate Russia’s continued global relevance by strengthening co-operation with a key Asian partner with a robust economy. It also allowed Russia to signal that it remained a reliable partner in Asia despite western pressure.
And, together, the visit enabled both sides to navigate western scrutiny on their own terms, asserting that strategic autonomy and national interest guided their bilateral diplomatic and security agendas.
RM Block
Modi’s hosting of Putin further highlighted India’s push to expand scientific and technological co-operation with Russia in space, high-tech manufacturing, civil nuclear energy, and trade in pharmaceuticals, engineering machinery and other industrial sectors.
Moscow, for its part, signalled its intent to move beyond arms, military equipment and energy sales, seeking greater Indian investment in infrastructure projects and introducing initiatives to attract Indian workers to Russian sectors facing labour shortages.
The optics surrounding Putin’s arrival carried unmistakable weight.
By personally receiving the Russian president at Delhi airport on Thursday, Modi broke with protocol to signal to the US, EU and other western powers that India remained steadfast in its partnership with Moscow, despite the war in Ukraine.
Another key aim of Modi’s summit with Putin, according to analysts and diplomats, was to push back against the US tariffs on Indian imports, linked to Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil.
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Although in recent weeks, India reduced its Russian crude imports to comply with US demands, Modi’s personal reception of Putin signalled that Delhi was resisting being dictated to by Washington and the West over its ties with Moscow.
“By engaging Putin so prominently, India was also sending an overt message of defiance, using its relationship with Moscow to highlight its independent stance in global affairs” said a senior western diplomat in Delhi, declining to be named, as he was not authorised to comment on the Putin visit.
India’s defence ties with Russia, meanwhile, remain a cornerstone of bilateral relations, built up over six decades of strategic partnership and operational trust.
Almost 65 per cent of Indian arms and military equipment is of Soviet or Russian origin and Delhi has remained totally dependent on Moscow for spare parts, maintenance and upgrades.
Official sources said talks between the respective defence ministers in Delhi on Thursday centred on India acquiring five additional S-400 air defence batteries and replacement missiles for those expended during the four-day war with Pakistan, in May.
India’s possible procurement of an unspecified number of fifth generation Sukhoi-57 combat aircraft, the upgrade of its Sukhoi-30 fleet and lease at least one more nuclear-powered attack submarine were reportedly also discussed.
India is also seeking technology to upgrade its BrahMos cruise missiles, jointly developed with Russia, and increase co-operation on several sensitive military programmes, such as building reactors for the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines that constitute the cornerstone of Delhi’s nuclear deterrence posture.
Overall, for Putin, his India visit – after a four-year hiatus – was about economic lifelines, global legitimacy, and reconfirming dependable partners.
For Modi and India, it centred on safeguarding strategic autonomy, securing critical military and energy supplies, and projecting global influence.
