Putin to visit India in December: what will he discuss with Modi?
1 September 12:10
Russian leader Vladimir Putin intends to pay a visit to India in December this year. This was officially announced in the Kremlin, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Putin will discuss the upcoming trip with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a meeting in China on Monday, said Yuri Ushakov, the Russian president’s adviser on international affairs. The talks will be held on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
The upcoming meeting in December is to be the next India-Russia summit, which this year will be held in India.
The current bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SCO will be the first face-to-face meeting between Putin and Modi this year, although the leaders have “spoken on the phone several times.” The Indian prime minister visited Russia twice last year – in July, his first visit since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and in October for the BRICS summit in Kazan.
India has refrained from directly criticizing Russia’s actions, while emphasizing the need for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. Along with China, India remains the main importer of Russian energy after the introduction of US sanctions that blocked access to Western markets for Russian exports.
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Putin’s other diplomatic activities
During his current visit to Beijing, Putin will hold talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and take part in a major military parade on September 3 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
In addition to his meeting with Modi, the Russian president plans to hold bilateral talks on Monday with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Massoud Pesheshkian.
The Russian side is also “working out the possibility of a bilateral meeting” between Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Beijing, who will also arrive for the military parade, Ushakov added.
US increases pressure on India over cooperation with Russia
The administration of US President Donald Trump continues to pursue a tough policy toward India over its energy cooperation with Moscow. The United States accuses New Delhi of “fueling” Russian aggression against Ukraine by continuing to purchase Russian crude oil. To “persuade” India to abandon Russian raw materials, the United States imposed 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods.
Moreover, as reported by , the White House is actively urging European partners to impose sanctions against India similar to those imposed by the United States. The Trump administration is demanding that European countries completely stop purchasing Indian oil and gas, as well as impose secondary tariffs against New Delhi because of its cooperation with Moscow in the energy sector.
However, most European countries have so far remained silent on trade relations with India and do not support American sanctions. And there is a reason for this – the Indian side sharply criticizes the West’s double standards, reminding that European countries also import Russian energy carriers but avoid “tariff punishment.”
In particular, these issues, along with the Russian-Ukrainian war, are being discussed at the SCO summit in Tianjin with the participation of Narendra Modi, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin.
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