Prime Minister Narendra Modi walks a fine line between maintaining long-standing ties with Moscow and close Western security ties.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Moscow this evening, his first visit to Russia after beginning his campaign in Ukraine. He was received at the airport by Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov.
“I look forward to further deepening the special and privileged strategic partnership between our two countries,” said Prime Minister Modi after arriving in Moscow. He will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow.
Putin will host a private dinner for Prime Minister Modi tonight ahead of the 22nd India-Russia Summit in Moscow tomorrow.
“The Prime Minister is scheduled to hold substantive discussions with President Vladimir Putin to take forward the special partnership between the two countries. He will also interact with the Indian community in Russia,” said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a press statement.
Prime Minister Modi walks a fine line between maintaining long-term ties with Moscow and close Western security ties. This is Prime Minister Modi’s first visit after returning to power for the third time.
“I look forward to reviewing all aspects of bilateral cooperation with my friend President Vladimir Putin and exchanging views on various regional and global issues,” Prime Minister Modi said in a statement before leaving India. “We want to play a supportive role in a peaceful and stable region,” he added.
Russia is India’s main supplier of oil and arms at subsidized prices. In recent years, Western powers have strengthened ties with India as a bulwark against China and its growing influence in the Asia-Pacific region, while pressuring it to distance itself from Russia.
Prime Minister Modi last visited Russia in 2019 and hosted Putin in Delhi two years later, just weeks before Russia launched its attack on Ukraine.
India and Russia have had close ties since the Cold War and Russia has long been India’s largest arms supplier. But Ukraine has cut off Russian arms supplies. Russia’s share of Indian arms imports has fallen significantly in recent years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Meanwhile, India has become a major buyer of Russian oil, providing Moscow with a much-needed export market cut off from traditional buyers in Europe. This has dramatically reshaped energy relations, with India saving billions of dollars while bolstering Moscow’s war coffers.
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From Russia, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Vienna in the first visit by an Indian leader to the Austrian capital since former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1983.
