Oil, defence and geopolitics: Why Putin is visiting Modi in Delhi
Delhi and Moscow are expected to sign several agreements during the visit, which comes months after the United States increased pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is beginning a two-day visit to India, where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attend the country's annual summit.
It also coincides with the start of a series of talks between the administration of US President Donald Trump and Russia to end the oil price war.
India and Russia have been close allies for decades, and Putin and Modi maintain a cordial relationship. Below, we analyze why they need each other and what they should look out for when they meet.
This makes India a hugely attractive market for Russian goods and resources, especially oil.
India is the world's third-largest consumer of crude oil and buys large quantities from Russia. This was not always the case. Before the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, only 2.5 percent of India’s oil imports came from Russia.
That number has risen to 35 percent as India has benefited from Russian price discounts created by sanctions against Moscow and Russia’s limited access to the European market.
India was pleased. Washington, not so much.
In October, the Trump administration imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods, arguing that India was helping to line the Kremlin’s coffers by buying Russian oil. Since then, orders for Russian oil from India have declined. President Putin would like India to continue buying.
For Moscow, arms sales to India are another priority, and have been since Soviet times. Before Putin’s visit, India was reported to be planning to buy Russian fighter jets and advanced air defense systems.
But geopolitical factors also play a role.
The Kremlin likes to point out that Western efforts to isolate it over the war in Ukraine have failed.
Flying to India and meeting Prime Minister Modi is one way to do this.
So too is a trip to China and talks with Xi Jinping, as Putin did three months ago. He was also on the same trip with Modi. The image of the three leaders, smiling and chatting, conveyed a clear message: Despite the war in Ukraine, Moscow has powerful allies who support the concept of a “multipolar world.”
It is equally explicit about its “special and privileged strategic cooperation” with India.
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