Partnership Under Pressure: Putin's High-Stakes Visit to India

Russian President Vladimir Putin is beginning his 2-day visit to India on Thursday (December 4, 2025) for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
                             
This is his first visit to India in four years. The talks between the two leaders are expected to focus on boosting defense ties, insulating bilateral trade from external pressure, and exploring cooperation in small modular reactors.

The significance of President Putin's visit to India is exceptionally high, primarily because it's his first visit since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, and it takes place amid intense geopolitical scrutiny and pressure from the West. PM Modi will host him for a private dinner in reciprocation of a similar gesture extended to the Indian Prime Minister by the Russian leader during his visit to Moscow in July last year. 

Ø Upholding the Strategic Defence Partnership: Roughly two-thirds of India's military equipment is of Russian origin.

Ø S-400 and Future Deals.

Ø The visit is crucial for establishing long-term oil and energy commitments and addressing the future of this trade, especially given the threat of secondary sanctions from the US.

Diplomatic Tightrope Walk: It’s a major test of India's ability to maintain its deep partnership with Russia while simultaneously nurturing its growing strategic ties with the US and other Western nations.

A major outcome is the expected signing of a program for the development of strategic areas of Russian-Indian economic cooperation until 2030, setting a long-term roadmap for collaboration in areas like civil nuclear energy, space, and technology.

In essence, the visit is a high-stakes diplomatic effort for both nations to stabilize and future-proof a core relationship amidst a fractured global order, focusing on concrete outcomes in energy security, defense logistics, and trade rebalancing.