Putin's India visit tests New Delhi's balancing act with US

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in India on Thursday for a two-day visit, underscoring a partnership between Moscow and New Delhi that has endured for nearly eight decades of geopolitical upheavals.

At the invitation of India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Kremlin chief is due to attend the 23rd India-Russia annual summit in the Indian capital.

This is Putin's first visit to India since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The two countries have signaled they want to strengthen their "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership" — an official designation for Russia-India ties adopted in 2010 — and "exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest," India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Ahead of the visit, Kremlin spokesperson and Putin's chief of staff Dmitry Peskov underlined the importance of defending the India-Russia bilateral relationship and trade.

His comments come as India is facing US tariffs over buying Russian oil. 

Russia continues to navigate an ever-growing number of Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

"We have to secure our trade from pressure from abroad," Peskov told journalists.

Peskov highlighted that discussions are underway on alternative payment options to bypass sanctions.

Also on the agenda is the transfer of workers, as more and more Indians seek employment in Russia. Talking to reporters, he also referred to Russia's defense deals, including the sales of S-400 anti-aircraft defense systems, Sukhoi-57 fighter jets and small modular nuclear reactors.

India is by far the biggest buyer of Russian weapons internationally. Also, Russia is now supplying over 35% of India's crude oil imports, compared to nearly 2% before the Ukraine war.

However, recent US measures targeting those doing business with Russian oil producers have pushed Indian refiners to diversify their suppliers, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.

US tariffs pushing India towards Russia

Even so, experts and diplomats contacted by DW say that ties between India and Russia have proven resilient to Western pressure, including the tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

"Putin's visit to India sends a clear message to the Western bloc that Russia does not remain isolated in global affairs," Rajan Kumar from the Centre of Russian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University told DW.

India also sees its ties to Russia as strategically important, helping New Delhi balance its relationships with both the West and China on a geopolitical level, according to Kumar.

"Trump's policies have created a trust deficit with the US and have increased the significance of Russia. Similarly, isolating Russia would imply pushing it closer to China, a situation India would not like to emerge," he added.

And while Russia maintains strong ties with China, Moscow, in turn, is wary of Beijing's growing geopolitical influence.

According to Kumar, this is the reason Russia is actively encouraging India's participation in Eurasian geopolitics through multilateral forums like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS.

Also, unlike Western nations, Russia does not lecture India on domestic issues or impose conditions on bilateral cooperation.

"Putin's visit bolsters this 'special and privileged' partnership rooted in converging interests, historical trust, and shared geopolitics," said Kumar.

Why are Russia and India so close?

Ties between Moscow and New Delhi were launched shortly after India gained independence in 1947.

The now-defunct Soviet Union had built up goodwill in India by supporting its industrial development and providing diplomatic backing in its dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir.

In 1971, Moscow openly supported India in its war with Pakistan, while both the US and China backed Islamabad. India also began procuring large quantities of Soviet-made weapons, and producing some of them — such as the T-72 tank — locally under Soviet licence.

Close defense ties survived the end of the Cold War, with Russia, starved for money in the 1990s, helping India produce largely Russian-designed missiles and fighter jets, and later driving the development of its nuclear-powered Arihant submarines.

In 2002, India and Russia signed an agreement on space exploration, which foresaw Russia helping India with space launches and satellite technology. Further agreements were signed after Modi first took office in 2014, including on nuclear energy and uranium sales.

With the war in Ukraine triggering upheaval in Europe in 2022, New Delhi was careful not to anger either Russia or the West — urging an end to the war without directly condemning Russia's invasion.

"As traditional partners, India and Russia have built a large capital of trust and confidence which is now coming in use as both countries face multiple geopolitical challenges, not just from the US but also China," D Bala Venkatesh Varma, a former ambassador to Russia, told DW, pointing out the relationship remains robust.

"The summit can be expected to see both leaders reinvesting in the bilateral strategic partnership," Varma added.

India and Moscow want 'strategic autonomy' in a shifting world

"The US may push India to reduce engagement with Moscow, but India values its defense and energy ties with Russia too much to compromise them," Harsh Pant, head of the strategic studies program at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a New Delhi think tank, told DW.

He described Washington's diplomatic stance as unpredictable, which in turn motivates India to carefully consider its partnerships.

"This balancing act allows India to sustain strong relations with Russia while managing its broader strategic partnership with the US," Pant added.

With Russia and India pursuing mutual interests and aiming for "strategic autonomy," the roots of their partnership "go beyond the immediate pressures from the Trump administration," according to the analyst.

Balancing Moscow and Washington

Putin's two-day visit will provide important clues about both India's and Russia's foreign policy priorities as power dynamics shift worldwide.

"The timing of Putin's visit to India underscores New Delhi's fundamental approach to foreign policy — strategic partnerships are not zero-sum games," Kanwal Sibal, a former Indian foreign secretary and ambassador to Russia, told DW.

"The US cannot dictate what India's foreign policy should be. We must accommodate and resist," he said.

Sibal's point is illustrated by India's carefully calibrated stance towards the Trump administration. India and the US are currently negotiating a trade deal focused on reducing tariffs and addressing Washington's trade deficit concerns with New Delhi. Moreover, New Delhi is advancing a landmark $1 billion (€860 million) deal between the US-based GE Aerospace and India's jet producer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), hoping to procure US-made jet engines for India's indigenous Tejas fighter aircraft.

Yet, India is also willing to simultaneously roll out the red carpet for Russia's Vladimir Putin.

According to Sibal, defense cooperation with Washington continues, "but this is not taking anything away from the strategic importance of Russia."

"India accommodates American partnership where beneficial, while resisting pressure to abandon Moscow. Putin's visit demonstrates that India's foreign policy operates on its own terms, not Washington's preferences," he said.

Murali Krishnan is a journalist based in New Delhi, focusing on Indian politics, society and business.

Disclaimer: This article first appeared on DW, and is published by special syndication arrangement.