Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on Monday for the first time in five years, at a time when Moscow is deepening its embrace of New Delhi’s rival, China.
Modi is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit, which will extend into Tuesday. India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters in New Delhi that given the lack of recent summits, several issues on the bilateral agenda “have piled up, which need to be addressed.” Senior Indian diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while major announcements are unlikely, Modi’s visit is intended to send a signal that the two sides remain close.
Russia’s ties to India stretch back to the Cold War, and the country is India’s biggest supplier of weapons and oil. That relationship has remained “resilient,” Kwatra said.
However, India is watching carefully as Russia draws closer to China, which has served as an economic and diplomatic lifeline amid sanctions over the Kremlin’s grueling war on Ukraine. During a security summit in Kazakhstan last week, Putin described relations with China as the “best in history.”
Relations between India and China have been strained since a border dispute erupted into violence in 2020, though the two sides have agreed to talks to resolve the disagreement.
“India, situated between Russia, China, and the West, seeks more predictability from Russia and is willing to play a bigger role in promoting peace in Ukraine,” said Petr Topychkanov, associate senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. “Nevertheless, behind closed doors, Putin may face questions from Modi about the increasingly close ties between Russia and China,” he added.
Moscow will be Modi’s first bilateral visit since he won a third term in office last month. His decision to travel to Russia instead of neighboring countries like Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka marks a break in convention for Indian leaders.
Measures to reduce a trade imbalance between the two countries are likely to figure prominently in the talks, Kwatra said.
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