Putin Visit: A Tough Balancing Act

The recent visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to India, keenly watched in Washington and European capitals, was high on optics but also entailed a tough balancing act for India. For Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s airport welcome, with a warm hug and a handshake, and the ride with the PM to his residence for a private dinner, was a win-win, given his pariah status in Europe and the West following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. For Modi, it was a reassertion of India’s independent foreign policy in the wake of the US imposing high tariffs on Indian goods for importing Russian oil. During the course of Putin’s state visit to India, 16 pacts were signed on issues such as shipbuilding, critical minerals, logistics corridors, pharmaceuticals, civil nuclear cooperation, and a labour mobility agreement. A programme for developing strategic areas of economic cooperation until 2030 was decided on, as was a 30-day free tourist visa for Russian nationals. The two sides also pledged to work towards early conclusion of a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, emphasising India’s push towards economic partnerships other than Western ones. While a defence synergy has always been the lynchpin of Indo-Russian ties, during the Putin visit, the focus was on economic cooperation given the new geopolitical realities.

President Putin did give an assurance on an uninterrupted supply of fuel to New Delhi, but there were no announcements on discounted crude. Since the US tariff squeeze, India has cut down on its imports of Russian oil. There were also no announcements on any defence acquisitions, though Russia has been India’s primary supplier of defence hardware for several decades. India can certainly not afford to antagonise the US, a country it is wooing for technology and investment. On the Ukraine war, PM Modi did articulate a new view that India was not neutral but on the side of peace. However, a day before Putin’s visit, India refrained from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution demanding Russia return Ukrainian children. Putin’s dismissal of the G7 as outdated and his assertion that BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and the G20 were arenas where today’s geopolitical realities were more adequately reflected was certainly a nod to India’s rising economic power. An article in an Indian newspaper by the envoys to India of Germany, the UK, and France ahead of Putin’s visit, blaming him for the continuation of the Ukraine war, was not well received by the Ministry of External Affairs but was reflective of Europe’s desire to get India to pressure the Russian President to end the war amidst US peace efforts. All in all, the Putin visit signalled continuity amidst change. Moscow and New Delhi reasserted their time-tested relationship while at the same time acknowledging the new world order.