A daylong summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled for a large-scale summit in the country’s capital, where trade and Western sanctions against the Ukraine war were to be discussed.
Putin has visited India for the first time since Russia launched its full-fledged conflict with Ukraine in 2022, and the summit on Friday comes as India is clamoring to end US sanctions against its purchase of Russian oil.
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Moscow hopes to strengthen ties with India, which is already the largest arms exporter to Russia. Officials have stated that they want to increase trade with India by $100 billion by 2030, an increase from the previous record of $68 billion in 2024.
Droupadi Murmu, India’s ceremonial head of state, and I made the meeting at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, the morning of the agenda. Modi and Murmu both greeted Putin with an honor guard ceremony.
After that, Putin traveled to Raj Ghat, where he laid a wreath in honor of Mahatma Gandhi, the anti-colonial movement leader who paved the way for Indian independence.
After that, Putin and Modi moved on to the Hyderabad House complex for meetings. Before a meeting with business and trade leaders, they are scheduled to address the media.
According to Al Jazeera’s Neha Poonia, who was reporting from New Delhi, Putin’s visit was “much fanfare.”
On Thursday, Modi personally greeted Putin with a hug and a handshake on the tarmac in New Delhi. Later, he later served as his hosts at his home to serve the Russian leader a private dinner.
Poonia noted that “many hugs and handshakes were exchanged.” The Friday bilateral meeting is now the center of attention. Despite pressure from Western nations, the two leaders claim that they will try to portray the Russian leader as a genuine pariah and that countries like India welcome him.
In 2023, Putin was detained for allegedly deporting Ukrainian children without authorization during Russia’s conflict with Ukraine. He was also granted an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant. India’s treaty or rules forbid its membership in the ICC, and it is not one of its members. Without any concern over arrest, Putin was able to travel to India.
At 9 p.m. local time (15:30 GMT), the Russian leader is scheduled to leave India.
A delicate balance
Russia and India have been working together for 25 years, beginning with Putin’s first year as the nation’s head of state.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, maintaining ties with both the US and Russia has become more challenging.
A long-standing custom of leaders making annual visits to each other was shattered by the Russian operation. Modi’s visit to Russia helped that partially resume last year.
India increased its purchases as Western nations reduced their dependence on Russian crude oil as a result of the conflict.
As a result of Trump’s attempts to pressure Putin into agreeing to a ceasefire, the US doubled the 25% tariffs it had previously imposed on Indian goods to 50% as a penalty for its purchases of Russian oil.
However, India kept purchasing Russian oil.
Trump’s sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, as well as a threat of sanctions against businesses from other nations that deal with these firms, are now in effect.
About 60% of India’s oil imports come from purchases made by the two companies.
New Delhi claimed that it was unfairly targeted, noting that Western countries still conduct business with Moscow when it is necessary. Putin made a similar argument in an interview with Indian journalists before arriving in New Delhi.
He claimed that “the United States itself still purchases nuclear fuel from us for its own nuclear power plants.”
He added that India should enjoy “the same privilege” if the US were to purchase Russian fuel.
Another area in which New Delhi has been under pressure from Washington is expected to be under Putin’s pressure to buy more Russian weapons.
Moscow has been considering selling Su-57 stealth fighter jets and additional S-400 missile defense systems to India.
Putin and a US delegation met in Moscow on Friday to discuss ending the Ukrainian conflict. After the meeting, both sides applauded progress, but no agreement was reached.
A delegation from Ukraine and US officials met on Thursday.
Source: Aljazeera
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