India’s Modi visits Russia for the first time since the Ukraine war, underlining the relations between Delhi and Moscow
India’s Modi visits Russia for the first time since the Ukraine war, underlining the relations between Delhi and Moscow
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Russia for the first time since the Kremlin launched its war on Ukraine. The trip follows his return to office for a third term and underscores the close ties between the two countries.
Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov announced Modi’s trip on Tuesday and said the exact dates of the visit would be confirmed later. The Tass news service had previously reported that the Indian president would spend two days in the country in early July.
Modi’s trip to Moscow will be a brief, official visit, said a senior Indian official, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential. It would be his first trip to the Russian capital since 2015. Modi visited Vladivostok in 2019 and last met Russian President Vladimir Putin two years ago on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The Indian Foreign Ministry declined to provide further information when asked.
India and Russia have close economic and political ties that have remained strong despite sanctions imposed by the United States and other Western governments against Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
India, the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil, is a major buyer of cheap Russian oil. Moscow remains India’s largest supplier of military equipment, shipping 36 percent of India’s arms imports to Moscow, according to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute.
Both countries are also members of the BRICS group of states, with Russia holding the rotating presidency of the bloc this year.
New Delhi has avoided criticising Russia for invading its neighbour and has advocated a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Modi cancelled an annual face-to-face summit with Putin in December 2022 after the Russian president threatened to use nuclear weapons in his war against Ukraine.
Almost a year later, Putin was absent from a summit of G20 leaders in New Delhi. At that meeting, Modi had helped forge a consensus statement on the invasion among the other members, including the United States, calling for sharp criticism of Russia.
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