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!
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