Putin and Modi discuss trade, peace in New Delhi summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began summit talks with New Delhi rolling out the red carpet for the Russian leader and Modi telling him that India supports peace efforts in Ukraine.

Putin is making his first visit to India in four years and aims to boost trade with Russia’s biggest buyer of arms and offshore oil as Western sanctions tighten decades-old ties.

The visit comes as New Delhi begins talks with the United States for a trade deal to reduce punitive tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on India’s goods for oil purchases from Russia.

Moscow has been India’s biggest arms supplier for decades and has said it wants to import more Indian goods in a bid to boost trade to US$100 billion ($151 billion) by 2030; this figure has so far been skewed in New Delhi’s favor due to its energy imports.

India increased purchases of discounted Russian crude as European countries cut their dependence on Russian energy after Russia invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago, but reduced those purchases in 2025 under pressure from US tariffs and sanctions.

Speaking to Putin at the opening of the talks, Modi said, “India is not neutral; India has an attitude and this attitude is in favor of peace.”

“We support every effort made for peace, we stand shoulder to shoulder in every initiative taken for peace.”

In response, Putin thanked Modi for his interest and efforts towards resolving the conflict.

“We had the opportunity to talk in detail about what is happening on the Ukraine line and the steps we are taking together with some other partners, including the United States, towards a possible peaceful solution to this crisis, and you gave me this opportunity,” Putin said. he said.

He said “opportunities for collaboration are increasing” between countries, including in areas such as technology, space and artificial intelligence.

Putin landed in Delhi on Thursday and received a warm welcome from Modi, who embraced him on the airport tarmac.

The two men later traveled together in the same vehicle for a private dinner hosted by Modi.

On Friday, Putin was ceremonially welcomed to the colonial-era Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, with a 21-gun salute as his motorcade entered.

At the end of the official talks, the two sides are expected to announce a series of agreements.

In an interview with broadcaster India Today, Putin opposed US pressure on India not to buy Russian fuel when it could buy Russian nuclear fuel.

India said Trump’s tariffs were unfair and unreasonable and pointed to continued US trade with Moscow.

Putin arrived in India a day after meeting Trump’s top envoys over a possible peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, but they failed to reach a compromise.

India has resisted condemning Russia for the war and called for peace through dialogue and diplomacy, while saying its ties with Moscow were unfairly targeted by Western countries.