Arriving in Russia on Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked a tightrope between preserving his long-standing friendship with Moscow and pursuing deeper security ties with the West.
This is Modi’s first visit as the head of the most populous nation in the world since Russia began its assault in Ukraine and he was reinstated last month.
“With my friend President Vladimir Putin, I look forward to reviewing all aspects of our bilateral cooperation and exchanging views on a range of regional and global issues,” said a statement from Modi. “Our goal is to contribute to the development of a stable and peaceful region.”
Although Moscow continues to be India’s principal source of inexpensive oil and weapons, its long-standing alliance with New Delhi has been harmed by the Kremlin’s estrangement from the West and growing closeness with Beijing.
In addition, Western nations have been urging India to break its connections to Russia while strengthening ties with the country in order to counter China’s expanding influence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Two years later, just weeks before Russia launched its war against Ukraine, Modi hosted Putin in New Delhi during his most recent visit to Russia in 2019.
On Monday afternoon, official media agencies verified that Indian Prime Minister Modi had arrived in Russia for an official visit.
Since then, India has refrained from publicly denouncing Russia and has stayed away from UN resolutions criticizing Moscow. However, India has also lost people as a result of Russia’s conflict with Ukraine.
Following reports that some of its residents were killed after being compelled to fight in Ukraine, New Delhi claimed in February that it was pressuring the Kremlin to return some of its citizens who had enlisted in the Russian military for “support jobs.”
Moscow’s strengthening connections with China are also a source of worry. China vehemently disputes accusations made by Washington and the European Union that it sold parts and equipment that bolstered Russia’s military industry.
India and China are fierce competitors vying for geopolitical sway over South Asia.
India is positioned against China’s increasing aggressiveness in the Asia-Pacific area as a member of the Quad alliance along with the US, Japan, and Australia.
Arms and oil
Russia was India’s principal armaments supplier for a considerable amount of time, and New Delhi and the Kremlin have maintained tight ties since the end of the Cold War. However, India is now forced to look for alternative suppliers of armaments, including expanding its own defense sector, as a result of Ukraine taxing Russia’s military supply.
In recent years, Russia’s proportion in India’s armament imports has decreased significantly, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Simultaneously, India has emerged as a significant purchaser of Russian oil, offering Moscow a much-needed export market following its isolation from conventional consumers in Europe. As a result, the nature of energy relations has drastically changed, saving India billions of dollars while increasing Moscow’s war chest.
The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air’s commodity tracking data shows that India’s month-over-month imports of Russian oil “increased by eight per cent in May, to the highest levels since July 2023.”
However, as a result, India’s trade imbalance with Russia increased to little over $57 billion during the most recent fiscal year.
Modi will make the first visit to Vienna by an Indian leader since Indira Gandhi in 1983, departing from Russia.
