Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Mr Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation in New Delhi for participation in the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit on 5 December, 2025

Amid Western sanctions, Putin gets Red Carpet Welcome in New Delhi

Deepak Razdan

05 December, 2025

As the Western World studied US President Donald Trump’s 28-point Peace Plan to end the Russia-Ukraine War, India hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin to a warm State visit on 4-5 December, 2025.

The Russian President’s India visit was meant for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, but its significance was much greater. The powerful Western World has been trying to isolate Russia with sanctions and forcing it to end its war against Ukraine.

President Trump imposed severe tariffs on India for buying Russian oil as it could strengthen Russia financially to continue the war. India expressed its helplessness to buy the Russian oil in the interest of its domestic economy and the world waited how things would turn finally.

India had no second thoughts over its oil trade with Russia and maintained its old relations with the country. There were several important outcomes of the Russian President’s visit to India.

The most important signal it sent was India thought for itself. The world is free to do the analysis and comment at leisure.

During their Summit at New Delhi, the Russian President and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks to review progress in bilateral relations and set the vision for strengthening their “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.”

At their joint press conference, Prime Minister Modi said 25 years ago, President Putin laid the foundation of the Strategic Partnership between the two nations.

Fifteen years ago, in 2010, the partnership was elevated to the level of a "Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership," Modi said the Russian leader had elevated the relationship to new heights in every circumstance.

“I sincerely thank President Putin, my friend, for his deep friendship with India, and his unwavering commitment,” Mr Modi spoke emotionally.

The Indian Prime Minister said “Over the past eight decades, the world has witnessed many ups and downs. Humanity has faced numerous challenges and crises. Yet, through all of this, the India-Russia friendship has remained steady like a guiding star. Built on mutual respect and deep trust, our relationship has stood the test of time.”

In their Joint Statement after the Summit, the two leaders accepted there were geo-political circumstances creating issues around the world. Yet Russia and India had stood together, they said, and “underlined that India-Russia ties have remained resilient in the backdrop of the prevailing complex, challenging and uncertain geopolitical situation.”

Speaking of India-Russian ties getting stronger in the years to come, Mr Modi said “we have agreed on an Economic Cooperation Program until 2030. This will make our trade and investment more diversified, balanced, and sustainable; and will also add new dimensions to our areas of cooperation.”

Recently, two new Indian Consulates have been opened in Russia. This will further facilitate engagement between our citizens and deepen their mutual relations, Mr Modi said.

The two countries have set a target of 100 billion US dollars bilateral trade by 2030, their Joint Statement said.

For this, the two countries recognised the importance of “an open, inclusive, transparent and non-discriminatory multilateral trade system with the World Trade Organization at its core.”

“Both Sides emphasised that addressing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, removing bottlenecks in logistics, promoting connectivity, ensuring smooth payment mechanisms, finding mutually acceptable solutions for issues of insurance and reinsurance and regular interaction between the businesses of the two countries are among the key elements for timely achievement of the revised bilateral trade target,” the Joint Statement said.

Away from the US dollar, Russia and India agreed to continue jointly developing systems of bilateral settlements through use of their national currencies “in order to ensure the uninterrupted maintenance of bilateral trade.”

Additionally, the two countries agreed to continue their consultations on enabling the interoperability of the national payment systems, financial messaging systems, as well as central bank digital currency platforms.

Sharing how relations between the two countries were destined to bring stronger, Mr Modi said “I am pleased that we will soon be introducing a free 30-day e-Tourist Visa and a 30-day Group Tourist Visa for Russian citizens.”

He said the manpower mobility will not only connect people of the two countries, but also create new strength and new opportunities for the two countries.

“I am pleased that two agreements have been concluded today to promote this cooperation. We will work together on vocational education, skilling, and training. We will also enhance exchanges between our students, scholars, and sportspersons,” the Indian leader said.

Ukraine was certainly not out of the view for the two leaders. Mr Modi said “we also discussed regional and global issues. Since the beginning, India has consistently advocated for peace, with regards to the situation in Ukraine.”

“We welcome all efforts being made for a peaceful and lasting resolution in this matter. India has always been, and will always be ready to contribute,” acknowledging efforts made by President Trump.

The Russian side recognised India’s interests. The Modi-Putin Statement said the two countries will broaden cooperation in nuclear energy, including fuel cycle, life cycle support for operating Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) and non-power applications, as well as to elaborate new agenda of interaction in the field of peaceful use of atomic energy and related high technologies.

The two nations noted the importance of the cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy as a significant component of the strategic partnership, taking into account the plans of the Government of India to increase India’s nuclear energy capacity to 100 GW by 2047.

In some good news for Indian students going to Russia for studies, the Joint Statement said the two countries expressed mutual interest in developing partner ties between educational and scientific organizations, including the implementation of various forms of academic mobility, educational programmes, scientific and research projects and the holding of specialized international exhibitions, conferences, seminars.

Emphasizing the importance of joint research in science, technology and innovations, the two countries confirmed their readiness to expand cooperation within the framework of the Roadmap for Indian-Russian Cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovations.

The India-Russia Summit showed some relationships are only destined to grow stronger, whatever pressures might come from international conflicts or diplomacy!