It was with a warm embrace and a big smile that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warmly greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo presidential residence outside Moscow on 9 July 2024.
It so enraged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he accused the leader of the world’s largest democracy of dealing “a devastating blow to peace efforts” for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.
These days, Russia is being supported by allies including North Korea and Iran, while Ukraine is being supported by the US and Europe. Reactions to Modi’s Moscow visit were therefore reminiscent of the Cold War mentality.
India-Russia relations
The US and its allies have been assiduously wooing India in recent years for economic, political and geostrategic reasons. A Russia-China power axis is a major concern to the West, yet Russia is an historic ally of India’s.
While the West knows that it cannot tempt New Delhi to abandon Moscow, it can work to reduce the benefits accruing to Russia and India from their relations.
That will not be easy, not least owing to the volume of bilateral trade, with relations deeply rooted in defence ties and cooperation in the hydrocarbon and nuclear sectors. Recently, India has been buying more Russian oil than China, a major reason why Russia-India trade grew by 66% in 2023.
India is still a heavy user of Russian military equipment despite slowly buying more from Western manufacturers, while farm products and fertilisers are also among India’s other major imports from Russia.
India-West relations
India knows that it cannot ignore the West either. In finance, technology, defense and education, India would do well to maintain good relations with the West.
If India has a much-heralded “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Russia, it must offer something to the West in compensation. Over Ukraine, India has sought to act with neutrality, to balance its relations with both Russia and Ukraine.
