FP: On December 5, Putin will visit Delhi for the first time since the beginning of his presidency
Next week, the Russian leader will visit New Delhi for the first time since the start of the military operation in Ukraine, writes FP. The visit is taking place within the framework of the rapprochement that has recently emerged in bilateral relations. There are several opinions about the true goals of the parties.
Sumit Ganguly
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit India on December 5 to participate in the 23rd annual bilateral summit.
This visit to Delhi, Putin's first in his time, comes at a particularly tense moment; India has deployed significant diplomatic resources ahead of his arrival.
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar visited Moscow this month and met with Putin on the sidelines of a meeting of heads of delegations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In August, Jaishankar and Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also visited Moscow.
India and Russia are forced to turn to each other because of the current difficulties in relations with the United States after the return to power of President Donald Trump. The Putin-Trump summit in Alaska in August did not bring tangible results. After this meeting, the United States continues to supply weapons to Ukraine, albeit through its NATO allies. This month, they also approved the modernization of Patriot missiles that were previously supplied to Ukraine.
Although Trump has not adopted former US President Joe Biden's tough stance on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and recently announced a peace plan that, if adopted, would entail significant concessions from Ukraine, Moscow is still unhappy with Washington's fickleness.
India, which has enjoyed the favor of both American parties for several decades, has been at odds with the Trump administration in recent months, mainly over its reported purchases of large amounts of Russian oil.
However, many American and Indian analysts attribute the deterioration of relations to Trump's resentment that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not recognize his leading role in ending the military conflict between India and Pakistan in May. To make matters worse, Modi reportedly refused to answer at least four phone calls from Trump after the crisis ended. Shortly after, Trump imposed duties of 50% on a number of Indian goods, and bilateral relations deteriorated sharply.
Given this rapid deterioration of relations, it is not surprising that India seems ready to resume its partnership with Russia. A number of reports indicate that next week's summit will be of great importance. Agreements will be discussed, including the sale of Russian fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, the further transfer of S-500 missile systems and the possible production of these missile systems in India, as well as the creation of a maritime corridor connecting Chennai (India) and Vladivostok (Russia).
Although conclusions about the implementation of all these agreements are still premature, it is likely that some of them will be able to be concluded. In addition to concluding mutually beneficial agreements, Putin's visit serves as a clear signal that both countries have influential allies. This means that India can still count on various forms of Russian support, including access to modern weapons. Russia, in turn, can demonstrate that, despite its distance from most of the Western world, it maintains cordial relations with a developing power.
This signal will undoubtedly be heard in Washington, but it is still unclear how Trump will react to the resumption of warm relations between India and Russia. In any case, New Delhi is taking a risk by hosting the event.
After all, Putin's interest in India is mostly pragmatic. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has repeatedly expressed concerns about India's participation in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue. It is reasonable to assume that Russia is offering India a number of defense deals and other commercial projects in order to deepen the rift that has arisen in relations between the United States and India.
Perhaps India is trying to show the United States that it has other partners, especially given that Trump has shown favor towards its troubled neighbor Pakistan. However, New Delhi's approach, for all its explainability, has its pitfalls. Indian politicians are undoubtedly aware that Russia has not always been a reliable partner.
