Indian media reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia in the coming days, which will help alleviate concerns about India getting too close to the West at the expense of drifting away from Russia and giving space to China.
According to Reuters on Wednesday, both India and Russia have confirmed the visit, but the exact dates are yet to be determined. Indian media mentioned that Modi is expected to visit Moscow around the time of the NATO Summit in Washington next week, with the Ukraine issue being a major topic of discussion during the summit.
While Western countries are attempting to isolate Putin, major powers from China, India, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America are continuously strengthening their ties with Russia. Official data shows that trade volumes between these countries and regions with Russia are on the rise.
Aleksei Zakharov, an Indian affairs expert in Moscow, mentioned, “For Moscow, this will be a great opportunity to showcase in the media President Putin’s meetings with leaders of countries like India during the Washington Summit.”
He stated, “India’s aim is to ensure that Russia does not align with China, and even if not explicitly supporting India, to maintain permanent neutrality in the India-China territorial disputes.”
Since the border skirmish between India and China in 2020, relations between the two countries have been strained.
Since 2000, leaders of India and Russia have held annual summits, with the latest meeting taking place during Putin’s visit to Delhi in 2021, which was disrupted thereafter due to the pandemic.
Nandan Unnikrishnan, an analyst from the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi, noted that Modi rarely visits Moscow, leading to speculation of a shift in Indo-Russian relations. He commented, “Therefore, I believe Modi’s visit will put an end to such speculations. We do not want to disrupt our relationship with any party, be it Russia, the United States, or any other country, due to another relationship.”
The Kremlin stated on Tuesday that deepening economic and trade relations would be a key theme of Modi’s upcoming visit. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, mentioned that regional security and global security issues are always important topics at such meetings.
Sources reported that India has increased its purchases of Russian oil, and during Modi’s visit, he is expected to seek discounts of $3-3.5 per barrel.
India has also been keen on exporting pharmaceuticals, machinery, and other goods to Russia. As of the end of the previous fiscal year in March, bilateral trade between India and Russia soared by 33% to $65.7 billion, with India’s imports amounting to $61.43 billion.