Russia’s Putin lands in New Delhi with trade, Ukraine talks high on the table

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened a full day of talks in New Delhi on Friday, putting trade expansion and Western sanctions in sharp focus as Moscow seeks deeper economic ties and India pushes for tariff relief.

The visit marks Putin’s first trip to India since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, and comes as New Delhi negotiates breathing room from US penalties linked to its purchases of discounted Russian oil.

“India is not neutral — India has a position, and that position is for peace,” Modi told Putin at the start of their meeting. “We support every effort for peace, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with every initiative taken for peace.”

Putin thanked Modi for his involvement in talks around the conflict.

“We had the opportunity – and you gave me that opportunity – to speak in detail about what is happening on the Ukrainian track and about the steps we are taking jointly with some other partners, including the United States, toward a possible peaceful settlement of this crisis,” he said.

Beyond geopolitics, the Kremlin wants to scale up trade dramatically: Moscow has set its sights on boosting bilateral commerce to $100bn by 2030, up from a record $68bn last year. India remains one of Russia’s most important defence customers and has become a critical buyer of Russian crude.

The day began with a ceremonial honour guard at Rashtrapati Bhavan alongside President Droupadi Murmu, followed by a visit to Raj Ghat to lay a wreath at Gandhi’s memorial. Talks moved to Hyderabad House for bilateral sessions and are expected to close with a joint address to business leaders.

Putin departs New Delhi tonight at 9pm local time (15:30 GMT).