New Delhi [India], December 6 : South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman has described Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to India as "successful" and "one of the most important" engagements between the two nations in recent years, noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally receiving Putin at the airport following the Russian President's arrival in the country underscored how significant the New Delhi-Russia relation is.
Speaking on the President of the Russian Federation's recent two-day state visit to India, during which he co-chaired the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, Kugelman said that PM Modi's move has sent a powerful message to the West about the enduring strength of India-Russia ties despite intense Western pressure, particularly from the US.
"PM Modi has sent a very strong signal to some key audiences in the West, including Washington, when he himself received Putin at the airport... It showed his personal views for President Putin and showed how strong the relationship is between India and Russia," the analyst said.
Since their last meeting here in December 2021, the Russian President arrived in Delhi on Thursday and PM Modi, breaking protocol, personally took the initiative to welcome Putin.
Not only that PM Modi and Putin share the same car ride, which took them to the Prime Minister's residence at the Lok Kalyan Marg.
Kugelman stated that the visit's significance stemmed not only from the fact that this was Putin's first trip to India in four yearsand the first since Russia's invasion of Ukrainebut also from the geopolitical environment surrounding the visit.
He termed the timing "precarious" given the mounting pressure from the US and Europe on India to drastically cut Russian energy imports.
"I would describe it as a precarious moment, in the sense that India is under significant levels of pressure from the West, particularly the US, to reduce its energy imports from Russia," he noted. "It was important for these leaders to show that even in the face of a lot of pressure from the West, this is a relationship that will endure," he added.
The remarks by Kugelman come a day after President Putin concluded his two-day state visit to India on Friday, which has been viewed as an essential step in strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations.
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