New Delhi, Dec 4 When the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aircraft was taxiing after touchdown at Delhi’s Palam Airport, he may not have been aware till later that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was himself waiting at the red carpet to welcome him.
As state-sponsored RT, earlier known as Russia Today, reported, “Modi has broken protocol to meet the Russian leader, whom he calls his friend, personally upon his disembarkation.”
And to commemorate this special edition of the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, a tradition dating back to 2000, the President will also launch RT India on Friday, December 5.
The Moscow-based global TV news network will roll out four daily news programmes in English. It aims to boost traditional ties between India and Russia as well as the countries’ growing influence in a multipolar world, said a report.
As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RT on President Putin’s India visit, Russia and India enjoy relationships “in most sensitive areas”.
The visit is set to include discussions on collaboration in the defence and space sectors, as well as talks on the joint production of Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jets.
The India-Russia Business Forum is also being held in connection with Putin’s visit to the capital on December 4-5. A former bureaucrat once pointed out that to meet various requirements at home, New Delhi procures hardware and machines from various parts of the world.
Manufacturers or suppliers from Western countries, he had pointed out, are very professional and will offer their support as and when needed.
On the other hand, a Russian partner will roll up his sleeves and get down to explain the nuances of operations and maintenance. That story has later been repeated elsewhere, too, underscoring the basic nature of the bilateral ties. Russia-India bilateral relations are time-tested since the days of the USSR.
During the 1971 war against Pakistan, the United States dispatched the Seventh Fleet to put pressure on India to call a truce.
On New Delhi’s request, Moscow had then immediately sent its Black Fleet to the Arabian Sea. Washington had to withdraw its naval forces, fearing another World War. In the G-20 Summit’s New Delhi declaration in 2023, the original draft referred explicitly to “Russian aggression” in Ukraine, but India negotiated a shift to the more neutral term “war in Ukraine”.
This was in contrast to the 2022 G20 Bali Declaration that explicitly expressed “deep concern” over Russia’s invasion and the resulting humanitarian crisis. This change removed direct attribution of blame and reframed the language to describe the situation as a conflict affecting global stability rather than as unilateral aggression by Russia.
And during Operation Sindoor, Russia’s S-400 air defence system played a decisive role, thwarting Pakistani aerial attacks within Indian territory. Following the success, India is now exploring the acquisition of Moscow’s more advanced S-500 Prometheus system to further strengthen its air defence capabilities.
New Delhi and Moscow are also allies in various international groupings such as the ‘Quad’ or the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, along with Australia, Japan, and the United States.
Then there is the BRICS – an intergovernmental organisation comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, added with newer members like Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
BRICS has of late emerged as an important platform for political and economic cooperation among the countries, aiming to enhance their influence in global affairs and promote development in the Global South.
India is also part of the SCO, or Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, an intergovernmental organisation established in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Its primary aim is to promote cooperation and peace among member states and to foster a new democratic, fair, and rational international political and economic order.
Currently, Russia continues to face Western sanctions over the Ukraine war, while India navigates tariff pressures from the US and energy volatility in global markets.
Against this backdrop, Putin’s arrival in New Delhi is both a diplomatic reaffirmation and a geopolitical signal.
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