What did Putin’s visit to India achieve? | Explained

The story so far: In terms of protocol, the government gave Russian President Vladimir Putin the warmest welcome ever. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed him on the red carpet on the New Delhi tarmac and then went with him to the Prime Minister’s residence for a private dinner. At the end of the 30-hour journey, President Droupadi Murmu hosted him with a banquet. Mr Modi said India-Russia relations were stable like the “pole star (dhruva tara)”. But the outcome of the Modi-Putin summit was modest.

What are the main takeaways?

Ahead of Mr. Putin’s visit, his first since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, this year’s India-Pakistan conflict and the downturn in India-US relations, there was significant speculation that the two sides were working on a number of important agreements on defense cooperation, procurement and technology transfer deals for aircraft, air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles. However, the meeting between Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrei Belousov before Mr Putin’s landing ended without any announcement. Instead, the focus was on direct economic cooperation, taking forward the “Development of India’s Strategic Areas – Russian Economic Cooperation to 2030” roadmap launched during Mr Modi’s visit to Moscow in 2024. To this end, they announced a “Labor Mobility Agreement” that will facilitate employment of Indian skilled workers in Russia, where a manpower shortage is expected for three million jobs by the end of the decade. Russian and Indian fertilizer companies have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a urea plant in Russia. Apart from this, agreements on maritime cooperation, ports and customs were also signed between the two parties. The two sides expected to smooth the way for bilateral trade, especially through the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Sea Corridor and the International North South Transport Corridor. India and Russia agreed to continue working to improve the regulation of bilateral trade in their national currencies. However, no announcements were made regarding oil purchases, which accounted for more than $60 billion of last year’s $69 billion trade, and no concrete results regarding space and nuclear cooperation emerged.

Was the Ukraine war a factor?

Mr Putin’s visit to India, as the Ukraine war could enter its fourth year, was significant because it took place last week in Moscow during intense negotiations over a US-led peace proposal aimed at ending the conflict. In comments to the media before the talks, Mr Modi thanked Mr Putin for “always keeping India informed” about the conflict and hoped for it to end. “India is not neutral, it stands for peace,” Mr. Modi said. Mr. Putin also said he hoped for peace and signaled some hope for the U.S. proposal. However, the biggest shadow over the talks was the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, which brought high costs to India. While Mr Putin has promised “uninterrupted fuel supplies to India” and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said it will only defer to “commercial considerations” in oil purchases, European sanctions on Russian and Indian oil companies, as well as the high 25 per cent tax on Indian goods imposed by the US, appear to have weakened India’s resolve. The figures show that the annual purchase of Russian oil in 2025 is greatly reduced (38% depreciation in October 2025 compared to the same period last year). Both sides may have stayed away from announcements on defense, space and nuclear cooperation during Mr. Putin’s visit in case the United States reconsidered the 2018 CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) law, which imposes sanctions on strategic purchases from Russia. In addition, the warning issued by three European Ambassadors (UK, Germany and France) in an article published a few days before Mr. Putin’s visit criticizing Russia for the war in Ukraine may have given the government a reason to pause, even as the MEA called the article’s “public advice” to India “unacceptable”. It is also significant that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who last year criticized Mr. Modi for embracing Mr. Putin in Moscow, remained silent about the hugs and courtesies in Delhi, perhaps due to New Delhi’s master diplomacy and the delicate stage the US-led peace talks have reached.

What could be the way forward?

For New Delhi, ending the conflict in Ukraine would ease the tightrope walk it is currently struggling with due to the deep polarization between Russia and Europe and Russia’s growing dependence on China. Mr. Putin’s visit comes just a month before possible Republic Day visits by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the European Union’s top leaders Ursula Von Der Leyen and Antonio Costa. The EU-India Summit is being held after a long time and the EU-India Free Trade Agreement is expected to be signed. In February, New Delhi expects French President Emmanuel Macron and other Western leaders to attend the Artificial Intelligence Summit, followed by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Meanwhile, the India-US free trade agreement, which hopes to roll back excessive US tariffs, is also at a decisive stage. In this sense, New Delhi hoped that the long-delayed Putin visit would be a “win-win”. He wanted the visit to be a reaffirmation of traditional ties with Russia and that the results would not cause objection from the West. This will allow India to continue pursuing its decades-old policy of “strategic autonomy”.