Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Moscow on Monday, July 7, for his first trip since his re-election. India is seeking to maintain its traditional alliance with Moscow and continuing its strategy of autonomous positioning.
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This is a first meeting during an “informal” one-on-one that took place between Narendra Modi and Vladimir Poutine Monday, July 8. The two men will meet again Tuesday for extended talks, before the Indian leader continues with a trip to Vienna. They appeared on Russian television over a cup of tea at Vladimir Putin’s residence in Novo-Ogariovo, near Moscow. The president also drove his counterpart in an electric car around the gardens and the two men watched a horse show, according to Russian news agencies.
” You have your own ideas, you are a very energetic person, you know how to achieve results in the interest of theIndia and the Indian people ” said the Russian leader. Narendra Modi thanked Vladimir Putin on X (formerly Twitter) for this welcome and indicated: looking forward to tomorrow’s talks, which will certainly help strengthen the bonds of friendship between India and Russia. »
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Multipolar world
The leader of the Asian giant will discuss with the Russian president the “ development of traditionally friendly Russian-Indian relations, as well as the international agenda “, according to the Kremlin.
THE UNITED STATES and their Western allies have cultivated ties with India in recent years to counter China’s growing influence in the Asia-Pacific region while pressuring it to move away from Moscow.
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Narendra Modi must ” to make it clear that any resolution of the conflict in Ukraine implies respect for the UN Charter regarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the sovereignty of Ukraine ” said US Foreign Ministry spokesman Matthew Miller. New Delhi, however, has refused to take a clear side by not explicitly condemning the Russian attack on Ukraine and by abstaining from voting on UN resolutions against Moscow.
A supporter of a multipolar world, India continues to develop its security relations with the United States, its rival. hated of Russia, which poses as the champion of multipolarity with the primary objective of weakening the West on the world stage.
What are the trade relations between Russia and India?
Trade between the countries has exploded, with a record high of $65.7 billion in the 2023-2024 financial year, according to the Indian Ministry of Commerce.
On paper, it is a commercial honeymoon despite the sanctions and to the benefit of Russia. The trade balance between India and Russia is in fact extremely favourable to Moscow.
In the last financial year, Russia imported pharmaceutical and chemical products, electrical and mechanical equipment, iron and steel from India for $4.26 billion. On the other hand, it exported $61.44 billion in oil and oil products “fertilizers”, the capping of the price of Russian black gold by the G7 countries has visibly had very little effect. Except that in reality, the sanctions hitting the financial sector seriously hamper trade. India pays in rupees, Russia has difficulty in recovering them.
Another topic on the table is military cooperation, which is highly dependent on Moscow. New Delhi is particularly concerned about delays in the delivery of this Russian production, which is totally focused on the war in Ukraine. Even more delicate – and of course no one is talking about this issue in Russia – is the Indian fighters in the ranks of Moscow’s army, which Narendra Modi wants to obtain their return.
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