Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to begin a two-day visit to India on Thursday for a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, aiming to restore crucial energy and defense cooperation impacted by sanctions and geopolitical pressure from the United States.
President Putin will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Defence Minister Andrei Belousov and chief executives from major Russian firms, including Sberbank, state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, and sanctioned oil companies Rosneft and GazpromNeft.
Russian President Vladimir Putin starts a two-day visit to India from December 4, pitching for more sales of Russian oil, missile systems and fighter jets in a bid to restore energy and defense ties hit by US pressure on the South Asian nation https://t.co/7MZsqcp5yI
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 2, 2025
Key Objectives of the Visit:
- Defense Cooperation: Despite mounting pressure, India plans to maintain defense ties with Moscow, recognizing its reliance on Russian-supplied systems. Discussions are expected to focus on securing defense spares, potentially buying more units of the S-400 air defense system, and exploring the acquisition of the advanced Su-57 fighter jet.
- Energy Trade: The visit seeks to boost sales of Russian oil and gas, which have recently faced a downturn due to tightening sanctions and India’s simultaneous increase in U.S. energy purchases. Russia is also anticipated to seek India’s assistance in obtaining technical equipment for its oil assets, which have been affected by sanctions.
- Financial and Economic Deals: The nations will continue talks to launch a Free Trade Deal with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union. The Russian lender Sberbank announced new rupee-denominated financing mechanisms, including a letter of credit with deferred payment, to increase Russian exports to India and facilitate two-way trade settlement in rupees.
- Strategic Projects: India is expected to pitch for the restoration of state gas explorer ONGC Videsh Ltd’s 20% stake in the Sakhalin-1 project in Russia’s far east, and both sides are in talks to expand their partnership in civilian nuclear energy.
Indian officials remain cautious, however, as fresh deals with Russia could risk a reaction from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has previously doubled tariffs on Indian goods in response to Russian crude purchases.
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Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council noted that the visit provides an opportunity for Delhi to “reassert the strength of its special relationship with Moscow” and advance new arms agreements, even as the energy relationship loses traction.
