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Russian President is beginning a short state visit to India, where he is set to meet the Indian leader Narendra Modi and attend an annual summit held by the two states.

India and the Kremlin are poised to finalize a number of agreements during the meeting, which occurs months after the United States ramped up scrutiny on India to cease buying Russian oil.

It also coincides with the US President administration engaging in a round of negotiations with Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to resolve the hostilities.

India and Russia have been strategic friends for decades, and Putin and Modi have a productive connection. Here is a look at why they both need each other – and what to expect as they meet.

A Unique Bond, Commercial Pacts and Global Strategy

Why are links with India key for the Russian leadership?

Firstly, look at the numbers:

• A citizenry of almost a 1.5 billion.
• Economic growth exceeding 8%. India is the world's fastest growing major economy.

That establishes it as a immensely appealing market for Russian products and raw materials – particularly crude oil.

India is the world's third biggest consumer of oil and has been purchasing significant quantities from Russia. That has not traditionally been the case. Before the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, only 2.5% of India's oil imports were sourced from Moscow.

That figure skyrocketed to 35% as India benefited from Russian discounted prices prompted by sanctions against Moscow and Russia's restricted ability to sell to the European market.

India was content. Washington was displeased.

In October, the Trump administration levied an further 25% duty on Indian products, contending that by importing oil from Russia, India was helping to finance the Kremlin's military budget. Purchases from India for Russian oil have subsequently declined. President Putin will be anxious for India to keep buying.

For Moscow, defence sales to India are another major objective and have been since the Cold War. Ahead of Putin's visit, there were rumours that India intends to buy state-of-the-art Russian warplanes and anti-aircraft systems.

Russia, hit by a labour deficit, also views India as a key supplier of trained workers.

But there's geopolitics at play, too.

The Kremlin relishes showing that US and European campaigns to isolate it over the war in Ukraine have not succeeded.

Visiting India and holding talks with Prime Minister Modi is one way of doing that.

So is travelling to China and holding talks with Xi Jinping, as Putin did three months ago. He conferred with Modi on the very trip. The picture of the three leaders in conversation together sent a strong message that, notwithstanding the war in Ukraine, Moscow has major partners who support the notion of a "multi-polar world".

Russia lauds its "no limits partnership" with China.

It is equally emphatic about its "special and privileged strategic partnership" with India.

That is a stark opposite to Moscow's tense ties with the European Union.

"I think the Kremlin is convinced that the West, even Europe, completely failed," argues political analyst Andrei Kolesnikov.

"We are not isolated, because we have connections to Asia and the non-Western nations. Economically, this is the future. In that sense Russia has come back as the principal actor in these areas of the globe, similar to the Soviet Union."

This week, though, anticipate to hear about Russia-India friendship, commercial pacts and enhanced commercial collaboration between Moscow and Delhi.

Challenge of Modi's Independent Foreign Policy

Putin's visit to Delhi is taking place at a critical time for Modi and India's worldwide goals.

India-Russia links extend to the Cold War and have endured irrespective of the shifting global political landscape.

Putin has likely put more attention into this partnership than other Russian leaders in the past.

As for Modi, even after being subjected to considerable pressure from US and European governments to censure Russia over its war in Ukraine, he maintained that talks was the sole way to settle the hostilities.

This was India's "strategic autonomy" at play – with Modi occupying a particular place in the international system where he cultivated warm ties with Moscow while preserving his relationship with the West simultaneously.

That succeeded – until Trump came back to the White House. India-US ties have hit an all-time low in recent times as the two countries have failed to settle the duty deadlock.

In this situation, Putin's visit carries greater importance for Modi than previously because it will examine India's geopolitical autonomy. He will be walking the proverbial fine line here.

Modi would seek to prove the Indian public at home and in the global stage that he still counts Putin as his ally and hasn't given into influence from Trump, whom he has earlier called his "close friend".

But he has also encountered pressure from his partners in Europe – only this week, the German, French and UK ambassadors in India wrote a rare shared opinion piece in a leading newspaper challenging Russia's approach on Ukraine.

And so, Modi will have to guarantee that the deepening of India-Russia ties does not overshadow current trade talks with the US and his partnership with Europe.

"For India, the task is maintaining equilibrium – safeguarding autonomy while navigating demands from Washington and dependence on Moscow," commented a local think-tank.

Modi's further goal will be to tap into the potential of economic exchange between India and Russia.

Experts have frequently said that the trade partnership between the two strong allies has been below potential for decades.

Their bilateral trade jumped to $68.72bn at the end of March 2025, compared to {just