Putin begins two-day India visit with defence deals and trade imbalance on agenda

President Vladimir Putin begins a two-day visit to India on Thursday, seeking to reinforce defence and trade ties at a time when New Delhi faces heightened pressure from the United States over its purchases of Russian oil.

Putin’s trip, his first to India since the start of the Ukraine war, includes a senior delegation led by Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, with media reports indicating that a potential fighter jet deal is under consideration.

Putin is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday for a private dinner, followed by a summit meeting and a business session the next day.

Beyond defence, trade issues are expected to feature prominently as India navigates its longstanding strategic partnership with Moscow while attempting to avoid friction with US President Donald Trump during ongoing tariff negotiations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s supply of S-400 air defence systems held an “important place on the agenda”. India has received three S-400 units, with two more pending under a 2018 agreement that was delayed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions.

Indian media reports also suggested Moscow may propose co-production of Su-57 fighter jets.

India is among the world’s largest arms importers, with Russia historically being a primary supplier. But New Delhi has pushed to expand domestic defence manufacturing, reducing Russia’s share of its arms imports from 76 percent in 2009–13 to 36 percent in 2019–23, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Energy imports

Putin’s visit follows Trump’s decision in August to impose 50 percent tariffs on most Indian products, citing Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, which Washington argues support Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.

India has become a major buyer of Russian crude, saving billions of dollars while providing Moscow with a crucial market after European buyers cut purchases following the invasion. Yet Delhi has recently reduced crude imports as sanctions tightened on Rosneft and Lukoil.

The Indian government is wary that new energy or defence deals with Moscow could strain ties with Washington and affect ongoing trade negotiations.

Peskov said Russia was unconcerned about US tariffs.

“What concerns us is how we are going to maintain and increase the volume of our bilateral business with India without allowing anyone to interfere,” he said Tuesday at a briefing for Indian media organised by Sputnik India.

Nandan Unnikrishnan of the Observer Research Foundation said: “There may be some reduction in energy purchases — under US pressure — but the overall direction of the ties will be maintained because both countries need each other at the strategic level.”

Even if India scales back energy imports, Russia remains essential as a supplier of spares for its legacy military systems.

‘Critical moment’

A senior Indian foreign ministry official, speaking anonymously, said the widening trade imbalance needed to be addressed “one way or the other”. Bilateral trade reached $68.7 billion in 2024–25, nearly six times pre-pandemic levels, but Indian exports accounted for only $4.88 billion.

Delhi has been pushing for greater access to Russian markets for pharmaceuticals, automobiles and services.

Unnikrishnan said Putin’s visit — his last being in December 2021 — gives both leaders space to discuss “the global situation, as well as what is happening in Ukraine”.

Harsh V Pant of King’s College London described the visit as an “attempt by the two sides to reset their relationship at a critical geopolitical moment for both”.

“For India, the optics is a statement of intent for strategic autonomy, and Putin, who rarely travels, is sending a message about the importance of the relationship by travelling here,” Pant told AFP.

The Indian foreign ministry official called India–Russia ties the “most stable relationship in modern times”. The official noted the broader geopolitical context but said the meeting “should be seen in its bilateral context”.

“This is just another annual summit between two countries with a steady relationship.”

(With inputs from agencies)