On 4 December 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi for a two-day state visit, his first since the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Upon his arrival in India, he received a warm welcome from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, indicative of the developing strategic ties between the two countries.
Although India – along with many other countries globally – has faced significant pressure from the Western world regarding Russia‘s actions in Ukraine, India and Russia have both pledged to continue to strengthen their relationship across multiple areas, including increased levels of cooperation in the areas of energy and trade that is not restricted to traditional commodities and defence-related initiatives.
The volume of trade between the two countries has increased markedly over the past few years, but it is still significantly skewed in favour of Russia, and there is a great deal of interest expressed by Indian officials to augment the level of Russian imports of Indian products (e.g., pharmaceuticals, manufactured products and agricultural products) to help to rebalance the inherent disparity.
With regard to security, military cooperation continues as a major focus of interest and collaboration: there are reported discussions between the two nations relating to greater cooperation on air defence systems, including the S-400; potential procurement of advanced military platforms, to include the Su-57 fighter; and possible joint development of missile systems, including upgraded versions of the BrahMos missile.
The visit essentially is about strategic autonomy for India, as New Delhi retains its historical ties with Moscow while remaining mindful of its evolving partnerships with Western powers and regional neighbours.
We anticipate agreements in trade, defence, energy, and likely labour and technology cooperation from the summit between Putin and Modi. Progress on rupee–rouble or rupee–rupee currency settlement mechanisms is also likely to be announced as part of efforts to bypass sanctions and facilitate transactions.
The success of this settlement, however, depends on India’s ability to balance its interests in getting cheap energy and reliable supplies of defence equipment without antagonising the West and threatening its position in world diplomacy.
