World Insights: Putin-Modi talks signal deepening Russia-India cooperation amid geopolitical pressure

COLOMBO, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to India from Thursday to Friday marked his first trip to the country since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict, sending a clear signal of Moscow's intent to reinforce ties with New Delhi amid mounting geopolitical strain.

The two-day visit coincided with the 25th anniversary of the Russia-India strategic partnership and unfolded against a complex backdrop: Washington has been pressing India over its imports of Russian oil, while diplomatic manoeuvring has intensified among Russia, Ukraine, the United States and Europe around a U.S.-backed "peace plan" for Ukraine.

During the visit, Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to deepen cooperation in traditional pillars such as energy and defense, while also outlining plans to expand collaboration into emerging fields, including technology and innovation.

Analysts observe that, under geopolitical pressure, including the U.S. factor, and driven by pragmatic interests, both nations are adopting a noticeably warmer posture in advancing bilateral ties -- a move aimed at bolstering the resilience of their strategic partnership and securing greater diplomatic space.

POSSIBLE SIGNAL TO U.S.

Although neither Putin nor Modi explicitly mentioned the United States in their remarks, analysts widely interpreted the strategic signals sent by the talks as a nuanced response to Washington's posture.

At present, U.S.-India tariff negotiations have dragged on without resolution. Indian government sources said that a U.S. trade delegation is expected to visit India next week for further discussions.

Ashok Malik, an analyst with the Asia Group, said India is using Putin's visit to further strengthen cooperation with Russia and demonstrate the country's pursuit of economic diversification.

Some Indian media noted that Modi's response at a press briefing to Putin's mention of oil supplies was relatively cautious, with Modi placing more emphasis on cooperation in nuclear and clean energy. Experts said that India continues to seek a balance between Russia and the United States and appears to be reminding Washington that New Delhi still "has cards to play" by reinforcing ties with Moscow.

Han Lu, deputy director of the Department for European-Central Asian Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, said Russia's efforts to deepen cooperation with India reflect three considerations. Economically, Russia needs stronger cooperation with India to bolster fiscal revenues and ease pressure from Western sanctions. Diplomatically, as major emerging economies, both sides can gain more space through closer ties, and in terms of security, India is a key partner in Russia's push to build a Eurasian security architecture.

DEEPENING COOPERATION IN PRIORITY AREAS

Putin arrived in New Delhi on the evening of Dec. 4 and was received at the airport by Modi. The two leaders then rode in the same vehicle to the prime minister's residence for a dinner meeting.

Indian media said the host side paid special attention to arrangements for the visit. Notably, given Europe's sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, the car used by Modi and Putin to leave the airport was not Modi's usual European-brand vehicle.

Energy and defense cooperation were the two focal points of Putin's visit. After talks on Dec. 5, both leaders said that cooperation in these fields would be strengthened.

On energy, Putin told a press briefing after the talks that Russia is willing to continue supplying oil to India "uninterruptedly." "Russia is a reliable supplier of oil, gas, coal and everything that is required for the development of India's energy," he said.

"Energy security has been a strong and important pillar of the India-Russia partnership," Modi responded.

On defense, a joint statement issued after the meeting said the two sides would encourage technology transfers and the establishment of joint ventures to jointly produce components of Russian-origin weapons and defense equipment in India.

BROADENING COOPERATION INTO EMERGING FIELDS

Russian and Indian media interpreted the visit as a signal that Moscow and New Delhi are working to expand bilateral cooperation beyond traditional areas such as energy and defence into "new tracks," including technological innovation, connectivity and local currency settlement, in order to build a more resilient framework capable of withstanding external shocks.

During the visit, Putin said Russia hopes to strengthen cooperation with India across all sectors, not only in traditional fields, and that both sides aim to raise annual bilateral trade to 100 billion dollars by 2030 and gradually expand settlement in national currencies. Modi said India would prioritize elevating its economic relations with Russia to a new level.

The India-Russia Business Forum, which the two leaders attended after their talks, was a major event on the visit agenda. Modi said India and Russia are "on a new journey of innovation, co-production, and co-creation," highlighting cooperation opportunities in high-tech industries, clean energy, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, textiles and other strategic and livelihood-related sectors.

Shishir Priyadarshi, president of Chintan Research Foundation, said that bilateral trade has reached an unprecedented level but remains structurally imbalanced. India's exports to Russia are insufficient: of the 68.7 billion dollars in bilateral trade during the 2024-2025 fiscal year, India's exports to Russia accounted for less than 5 billion dollars.

He added that trade remains heavily concentrated in the energy and defence sectors, and the two sides need to significantly expand cooperation in non-energy goods, services and industrial chains to cushion external shocks from the West.

On connectivity, Russia and India signed several agreements in the fields of transport and logistics, and stressed in their joint statement that they would deepen cooperation to build "stable and efficient transport corridors." Key directions include the International North-South Transport Corridor, the Chennai-Vladivostok (Eastern Maritime) Corridor, and the Northern Sea Route.

Multiple media outlets said these initiatives aim to reduce reliance on Western-dominated shipping systems and reflect Russia and India's pursuit of greater autonomy amid the global restructuring of supply chains. ■