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Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sojourn to India (December 4 and 5) for the India-Russia Annual Summit had sparked a large woody of involvement crossed the world, isolated from India itself, though for antithetic reasons. The West, which since the Ukraine struggle successful 2022, has boycotted the Russian President, was keen to spot however the sojourn would crook out, and whether it would undermine the embargo they had imposed connected him for reasons that are good known. The Elephant and the Bear, however, managed to adroitly grip the situation, and successful a mode that gave small crushed for restitution to the West, adjacent portion maintaining a veneer of strategical autonomy.
A heavy connection
Meetings betwixt the heads of authorities of India and Russia person ever been viewed arsenic seminal events. They person often produced transformative results. Few successful India tin perchance hide however the India-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation signed betwixt the 2 countries successful 1971, erstwhile Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India and Leonid Brezhnev was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, transformed the strategical scenery of South Asia. It enabled India to decision Pakistan and guarantee the liberation of East Pakistan, which became the nascent authorities of Bangladesh. Less significant, but reminiscent of Russia’s willingness to widen its manus of relationship to India, was Mr. Putin’s motion successful 2009 during a acme gathering with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of waiving penalties to alteration India to unafraid its 2nd craft bearer supplied by Russia. Other instances, not each of it known to the extracurricular world, but important successful truthful acold arsenic the adjacent relationship betwixt the leaders of the 2 countries, besides exist. This has been the glue sustaining a narration calved retired of communal accommodation and faith.
The closeness of the narration has often irked the West, which, adjacent arsenic it tilted towards Pakistan astir of the clip and railed against India’s argumentation of non-alignment, viewed Russia’s backing for India arsenic an anti-West manoeuvre.
After 1971, the India-Russia narration took connected a caller dimension, and since the Gorbachev epoch successful Russia, India-Russia ties person gone from spot to strength. The presidency of Mr. Putin for the past 4th of a period further cemented the friendship. Successive Indian Prime Ministers person sustained this relationship.
The Russia-Ukraine war, however, became a trial lawsuit successful truthful acold arsenic India-Russia relations were concerned; India maintained strict neutrality, but it refused to articulation the anti-Russia bandwagon. This has since been a constituent of contention betwixt India and the West.
The caller sojourn of the Russian person is his archetypal to India aft the West imposed embargo connected visits and meetings. Mr. Putin’s Delhi sojourn was, hence, invested with acold greater involvement than mightiness different person been the case. An earlier acme betwixt the Indian and Russian leaders had taken spot successful Tianjin (in China), wherever Mr. Putin and Mr. Modi had displayed a large woody of warmth towards each other. This had, however, been anathema to the West.
The Joint Statement
Relations betwixt Russia and the West have, if anything, deteriorated further ever since. Some successful the West were perchance anticipating a displacement successful the contented of the India-Russia narration fixed the existent flux successful planetary politics, U.S. President Trump’s heightened tariffs connected India for continuing to acquisition Russian lipid successful the aftermath of the struggle successful Ukraine, and different aspects. However, this has been belied, arsenic the optics of the latest sojourn indicate.
The West, particularly the U.S. and countries of the European Union, are definite to beryllium disappointed astatine the outcome. Apart from the nationalist show of warmth by the Indian Prime Minister and the Russian President connected the latter’s accomplishment successful Delhi, the narration betwixt the 2 countries, often touted arsenic a narration carved successful stone, remains unaffected.
The Joint Statement issued pursuing the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit makes this clear. Support for a further strengthening of the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership betwixt India and Russia (marking the 25th Anniversary of the Declaration of Strategic Partnership betwixt India and Russia), for instance, remains unchanged. The connection reiterates the peculiar quality of the longstanding time-tested narration characterised by communal spot and respect for each other’s halfway nationalist interests. The Joint Statement further envisages exploring caller avenues for cooperation, portion strengthening practice successful accepted areas.
The optics of the sojourn were, hence, excellent. The media sum exceeded expectations. The assemblage connection demonstrated by the 2 principals near thing to beryllium desired. There were much than the accustomed references to connectivity, and practice connected transport corridors, particularly connected the Northern Sea way done the Arctic, and the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor. Technology and concern collaboration besides recovered salient mention.
Leaving retired defence matters
Yet, defence matters, which had truthful acold provided the main spark arsenic acold arsenic the narration was concerned, were conspicuously absent from the Joint Statement. This has been a halfway point during the Putin epoch — and unless determination was a deliberate determination to support diplomatic soundlessness connected supposedly arguable aspects and subjects, it would look that the essence of the India-Russia narration was changing. The reasons for this person yet to beryllium explained, and springiness country for heavy thought, particularly during a play of planetary flux. The defence narration and practice had ever been seen and accepted arsenic the bedrock of India-Russia relations; successful this instance, however, it has been pushed into the inheritance arsenic of now. This is not simply significant, but could people a displacement successful India’s cognition and approach, which has truthful acold been (at slightest successful defence matters) mostly pro-Russia successful outlook.
India has, of late, diversified its defence purchases to see countries specified arsenic Israel and France. Nevertheless, Russia has implicit the years provided the main sinews for India’s defence. It has been India’s astir accordant state successful conflicts with countries specified arsenic Pakistan, with the second being consistently backed by the West. It is not simply the consistency of Russian support, but besides the prime of galore of the items that Russia has been consenting to proviso India that has added a large woody of heft to India’s defence capabilities. At present, arsenic was amply proved during Operation Sindoor successful May 2025, Russia’s S-400 aerial and rocket defence strategy (which has acquired a adjacent mythical presumption and is wide credited with India’s occurrence during the conflict), the Brahmos rocket that India has jointly developed with Russia, and is simply a captious portion of India’s arsenal, isolated from items specified arsenic the Sukhoi SU-30 MKI, the T-90 Tanks, and transport helicopters, signifier an integral portion of India’s defence structure. Considerable advances person besides been made with respect to associated manufacturing and aboriginal collaboration betwixt India and Russia successful the arcane country of defence.
While India, nary doubt, has definite caller options to enlarge its subject stockpile, Russia has historically been its largest astir reliable and important supplier of state-of-the-art weaponry connected land, sea, and air. Of late, Russia has offered much of the same. A displacement towards Western sources, fixed the existent authorities of planetary politics, could truthful beryllium detrimental to India’s interests. While this mightiness bring astir greater European and U.S. endorsement of India’s policies, the existent costs request to beryllium weighed carefully. It should beryllium evident that small scope for a alteration exists, fixed that the West has ne'er been a reliable spouse portion Russia has been.
To supply verisimilitude to what has been mentioned present astir the less-than-friendly ties betwixt India and the U.S., the U.S. Administration has precocious notified Congress of a $686 cardinal sustaining and modernisation bundle for Pakistan’s F-16 combatant pitchy fleet. The bundle would see avionic upgrades and cryptographic modules, ngo readying software, simulators and logistical enactment from contractors. The latest notification comes connected apical of the $400 cardinal upgrade programme, announced earlier successful 2025. This is notwithstanding a caller Washington Declaration that has averred that U.S.-India ties are the defining narration of the 21st century.
M.K. Narayanan, erstwhile Director, Intelligence Bureau, erstwhile National Security Adviser, and erstwhile Governor of West Bengal
