The leaders of Russia and India displayed diplomatic resilience in New Delhi, India, by projecting a message that their bilateral partnership is protected from widening global fractures in the city that is the most polluted country in the world.
At the Russia-India annual bilateral summit in New Delhi – against a backdrop of intensifying Western pressure, punctuated by recent United States tariff threats and the ongoing negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine – the two leaders framed their relationship as a stabilising force.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, praised India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi for putting pressure on them and investing in the shared bond while Modi called the two countries’ relations “steadfast like a pole star.”
In a rare outing of protocol, Modi and Putin met at the Delhi airport to meet him for dinner and took a shared ride back to the Indian PM’s residence. Putin frequently uses his Aurus limousine for talks, so it’s known as “limo diplomacy.”
On Friday, memorandums of understanding were exchanged between multiple ministers from each side, expanding trade and cooperation in various sectors, from energy to agriculture and pharmaceuticals.
According to Modi, the agreements will “increase the prosperity of India and Russia” under the framework of the India-Russia economic cooperation program through 2030. A $100 billion trade goal has been agreed upon by the nations.
And, in a major signal to the West, Putin said: “Russia is ready for uninterrupted shipments of fuel to India”. India’s relationship with the US, which claims to be funding the conflict in Ukraine, has become strained as a result of Russian crude importation. Due to Russia’s ongoing purchase of Russian oil, US President Donald Trump hit India with an additional 25 percent trade tariff earlier this year, increasing the total tariff to 50 percent on Indian exports to the US.
So, what were the main takeaways from this summit?
Russia and India reaffirmed their close ties.
The summit provided a platform for the two countries to reach a slew of trade agreements spanning jobs, health, shipping and chemicals.
However, some experts believed the summit was more significant as a political propaganda stunt.
The summit’s signaling that neither side intends to dilate this relationship and is prepared to withstand any external pressure was a key takeaway, according to Harsh Pant, a geopolitics analyst at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.
Moreover, Pant said: “The attempt is to build the economic partnership, beyond oil and defence”. Without that, he continued, “the bilateral relationship is not responsive to contemporary realities.”
The summit is of “extreme importance because of the greater willingness on the part of both Russia and India to turbocharge this relationship,” according to Robinder Sachdev, president of the Delhi-based think tank Imagindia Institute.
“Both sides want to increase their engagement beyond just government-to-government deals, in oil and defence sectors, and boost people-to-people ties”, said Sachdev. That could be the longest string in this bilateral relationship.
Following their media interviews, neither leader responded with a question, which Putin summed up by saying the Russian delegation was pleased with the bilateral partnership’s “deepening” prospects.
Putin added that, along with other BRICS countries – a growing bloc of emerging economies – India and Russia are promoting a “more just” and “multipolar” world. Puntin referred to their “close working dialogue” and “regular” phone calls as further evidence of the closeness that he shared with Modi.
Modi stated in his statement that the two nations’ “Economic Cooperation Programme” aims to diversify, balance, and sustainably manage trade and investment, as well as expand opportunities for export, co-production, and co-innovation.
“Both sides are working towards the early conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union”, Modi added.
Modi added that improving “connectivity” between Moscow and New Delhi is a “major priority” for the two countries, noting that bilateral relations have always been strong and important pillars of energy security.
Modi also mentioned the opening of two additional Indian consulates last month and proposed two new 30-day visa programs for Russian nationals.
Modi said he had discussed the war in Ukraine with Putin and conveyed that India has “stood for peace since the beginning”.
In addition to the April 2024 attacks in Kashmir and the Moscow City Hall bombing, “India and Russia have long supported each other and worked shoulder to shoulder in the fight against terrorism,” said Modi.
India did not pressure Russia over Ukraine
Since 2000, the Indian prime minister has a one-year visit to Russia, and the Russian president makes a second visit the following year. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it was stopped and only resumed when Modi traveled to Russia in 2024.
Ultimately, the Russian president’s 30-hour flying visit to Delhi sends a clear message to other world leaders amid growing pressure on him to conclude a peace deal with Ukraine. Putin claims that “Moscow is not alone, and the Kremlin’s attempts to isolate it have failed,” according to experts.
The US and its allies in Europe had hoped that Putin would agree to a peace deal with New Delhi. However, India did not call on Russia to end the war, although PM Modi appeared to reiterate his earlier position that “this is not an era of war”.
During discussions between the two leaders at Hyderabad House in Delhi on Friday, the Indian prime minister said, “India is on the side of peace.”
Modi argued that “we support every effort to bring peace back to the world,” adding that “India-Russian relations should grow and reach new heights.”
Expressing his gratitude to Modi, Putin said, “The two nations also have relations in the military sphere, in space development, artificial intelligence, and other areas … and we intend to move forward in all these areas”.
India and the West are treading a tightrope, with India avoiding Russia.
New Delhi is currently caught in a precarious geopolitical equation, a reality that has starkly tested the scope of India’s foreign policy.
On the other hand, India is subject to punitive trade tariffs and an increasingly coercive United States. By purchasing crude oil, the Trump administration claims that India has effectively funded Putin’s Ukrainen war machine.
The war in Ukraine, however, has tested the friendship between Moscow and New Delhi – a relationship that goes back decades.
India has remained unaffected by any formal alliances with any superpower since its 1947 independence, leading the non-aligned movement during the Cold War. However, it actually resembled the 1960s Soviet Union more.
Since the end of the Cold War, India has deepened strategic and military ties with the US while trying to keep its friendship with Russia afloat.
The largest buyer of Russian weapons is still India. India’s dependence on the Russian military sector was recently revealed during New Delhi’s four-day clashes with Pakistan, with real-time reliance on Russian platforms like the Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters and the S-400 missile system.
Investing in ties with Moscow and hosting Putin at this time allows New Delhi some leverage in a fragmented global order and maintains what it calls “strategic autonomy” to pursue its “multi-alignment” foreign policy.
The leaders at the Delhi summit were given the opportunity to reiterate that “neither side wants this relationship to end, and both sides want to invest diplomatic capital,” according to Pant of the ORF.
Trump and his administration’s focus on India more, he said, illustrating the importance of the relationship with Russia.
Putin was defiant about US oil pressure.
The bilateral energy cooperation, according to the Russian president, “remains unaffected” in large part due to Western sanctions against Moscow and the White House’s imposing punishing tariffs on India for importing Russian oil.
Putin told broadcaster India Today that Washington continues to buy Russian nuclear fuel for power plants.
“That also serves as uranium and fuel for the US reactors.” Why shouldn’t India enjoy the same privilege as the US does when we can purchase our fuel? said the Russian president. We are prepared to discuss this matter with President (Donald) Trump, saying, “This question deserves thorough investigation.”
Since 2022, India-Russia trade has grown significantly, reaching a record high of nearly $69 billion this year, primarily due to New Delhi’s desire for discounted Russian crude oil.
However, these numbers remain lopsided: Indian exports, largely pharmaceuticals and machinery, stand at roughly $5bn, resulting in a widening $64bn trade deficit.
Additionally, the most recent official information from India’s commerce ministry shows that the country’s crude imports from Russia have decreased by 38 percent from last year’s record high of $ 5.8 billion to $ 3.55 billion in October.
Despite all of this, Russia still accounts for about 30% of India’s total oil imports in terms of value and volume.
While noting that the import numbers have come down, Putin stressed that trade remains “unaffected by current conditions, fleeting political swings or the tragic events in Ukraine” and added that Russian businesses had built a solid and efficient commercial relationship with India, one based on mutual trust.
What else was discussed during the summit’s pre-session?
Putin landed in New Delhi with an entourage which included Andrei Belousov, his defence minister, and a large delegation from business and industry, including top executives of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport.
Before the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, Belousov met Rajnath Singh, his Indian counterpart, at the Manekshaw Center in New Delhi on Thursday.
The Russian defense minister stressed “the Russian defence industry’s readiness to support India toward becoming self-reliant in the field of defence production,” a joint statement read.
A Russian delegation also expressed interest in importing fishery and meat products from India and resolving market access issues, the Indian government said in a separate statement following a meeting between agriculture ministers on the sidelines.
A smaller portion of $ 127 million of fishery products went to Russia last year, but India exported it for $ 7.45 billion.
According to geopolitical analysts, New Delhi is hoping for a quicker resolution to its strategic partner’s pressure after the summit, thereby releasing it from international pressure.
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply