Putin's Visit to India: A Strategic Alliance Amid Geopolitical Tensions

Fri Dec 05 2025 03:10:22 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As Vladimir Putin meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, the two leaders navigate complex dynamics of oil dependency, defense collaboration, and shifting geopolitical alliances amid Western pressures.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India highlights the enduring alliance between the two nations against the backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions with the West. With increased oil trade and defense deals on the agenda, Modi's leadership faces the challenge of balancing relationships with both Moscow and Washington. This visit serves as a test of India's strategic autonomy as it seeks to strengthen ties with Russia while managing external pressures from its Western partners.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is starting a two-day visit to India, where he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attend an annual summit held by both countries.

Delhi and Moscow are expected to sign a number of deals during the visit, which comes months after the US increased pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil.

It also comes as US President Donald Trump's administration holds a series of talks with Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to end the war.

India and Russia have been close allies for decades and Putin and Modi share a warm relationship. Here's a look at why they both need each other - and what to watch for as they meet.

A special friendship, trade deals and geopolitics

Well, for a start, look at the numbers:

a population of nearly a billion and a half.

economic growth exceeding 8%. India is the world's fastest growing major economy.

That makes it a hugely attractive market for Russian goods and resources - especially oil.

India is the world's third largest consumer of crude oil and has been buying large volumes from Russia. That wasn't always the case. Before the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, only 2.5% of India's oil imports were Russian.

That figure jumped to 35% as India took advantage of Russian price discounts prompted by sanctions against Moscow and Russia's restricted access to the European market.

India was happy. Washington less so.

In October, the Trump administration slapped an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, arguing that by purchasing oil from Russia, India was helping to fund the Kremlin's war chest. Orders from India for Russian oil have since dropped. President Putin will be keen for India to keep buying.

For Moscow, weapons sales to India are another priority and have been since Soviet times. Ahead of Putin's visit, there were reports that India plans to purchase state-of-the-art Russian fighter jets and air defence systems.

Russia, hit by a labor shortage, also sees India as a valuable source of skilled workers.

But there's geopolitics at play, too.

The Kremlin enjoys demonstrating that Western efforts to isolate it over the war in Ukraine have failed.

So is travelling to China and holding talks with Xi Jinping, as Putin did three months ago. He met Modi on the same trip. The image of the three leaders smiling and chatting together sent a clear message that, despite the war in Ukraine, Moscow has powerful allies who support the concept of a 'multi-polar world'.

This week, though, expect to hear about Russia-India friendship, trade deals, and increased economic cooperation between Moscow and Delhi.

Test of Modi's strategic autonomy

Putin's visit to Delhi is coming at a crucial time for Modi and India's global ambitions.

India-Russia ties go back to the Soviet era and have endured irrespective of the changing geopolitical landscape. Putin has arguably put more time and energy into this relationship than other Russian leaders before him.

As for Modi, despite coming under intense pressure from Western governments to criticise Russia over its war in Ukraine, he maintained that dialogue was the only way to resolve the conflict.

This was India's 'strategic autonomy' at play – with Modi occupying a particular place in the geopolitical order where he held close ties with Moscow while maintaining his relationship with the West at the same time.

India's limited armed conflict with Pakistan in May this year proved the indispensable role of Russian platforms like the S-400 air defence systems in its armed forces but it also showed the vulnerabilities that the country urgently needs to fix.

Reports suggest that India wants to buy the upgraded S-500 systems and the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet. Modi aims to position Indian goods in Russia's market, especially once the war ends and Moscow is reintegrated into the global economy.

Modi's other priority will be to unlock the potential of bilateral trade between India and Russia. Analysts have often said that the economic relationship between the two strong allies has underperformed for decades. Their bilateral trade rose to $68.72 billion at the end of March 2025, up from just $8.1 billion in 2020. This has skewed the balance heavily in favour of Russia and that is something Modi would want to correct.

With Indian firms already reducing oil purchases from Russia to avoid sanctions from Washington, the two countries will look at other areas to boost trade. Defence is the easiest pick. Several Indian defence platforms still rely heavily on Russia.

Putin's visit is not a nostalgic return to Cold War diplomacy. It is a negotiation over risk, supply chains, and economic insulation. A modest outcome will secure oil and defence; an ambitious one will reshape regional economics.