Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began summit talks in New Delhi on Friday, as New Delhi rolled out the red carpet for the Russian leader and Modi told him India supported peace efforts in Ukraine.
Putin is on his first visit to India in four years, aiming to boost trade with the top buyer of Russia’s arms and seaborne oil as Western sanctions squeeze their decades-old ties.
The visit comes at a time when New Delhi is engaged in talks with the US for a trade deal to cut punitive tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on its goods over India’s Russian oil purchases.
Moscow has been India’s top arms supplier for decades and has said that it wants to import more Indian goods in an effort to grow trade to $100 billion by 2030, which so far has been skewed in its favour due to New Delhi’s energy imports.
Since European countries cut their reliance on Russian energy after Russia attacked Ukraine nearly four years ago, India ramped up its purchases of discounted Russian crude, only to reduce them under pressure from US tariffs and sanctions this year.
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‘India is not neutral’
“India is not neutral — India has a position, and that position is for peace,” Modi told Putin as they opened their talks.
“We support every effort for peace, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with every initiative taken for peace.”
Putin, in response, thanked Modi for his attention and efforts aimed at resolving the conflict.
“We had the opportunity – and you gave me that opportunity – to speak in detail about what is happening on the Ukrainian track and about the steps we are taking jointly with some other partners, including the United States, toward a possible peaceful settlement of this crisis,” Putin said.
“As our countries and economies grow, the opportunities for cooperation expand,” Putin said. “New areas are emerging – high technologies, joint work in aviation, space, and artificial intelligence. We have a very trusting relationship in the field of military-technical cooperation, and we intend to move forward in all these areas.”
Putin landed in Delhi on Thursday to a warm welcome from Modi, who greeted him with an embrace on the tarmac of the airport. The two men then travelled together in the same vehicle for a private dinner hosted by Modi.
On Friday, Putin was given a ceremonial welcome on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the colonial-era presidential palace, with a 21-gun salute as his convoy drove in.