Putin's Trip to India: What Happened

Putin's Trip to India: What Happened

Russian President Vladimir Putin spent two days in India, wrapping up on 5 December 2025—his first visit in four years. The trip was all about keeping the old friendship strong, especially with everything kicking off over Ukraine and trade spats with America. 

Putin touched down in New Delhi on 4 December, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave him the full works—red carpet at the airport and a proper hug, like they were old mates reuniting. They had a good chinwag at the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, talking energy, defence, and trade, while telling everyone else to butt out. Putin promised India's oil supply would keep flowing no matter what, even with the US President Donald Trump slapping tariffs on Indian stuff because they're buying Russian oil. The two countries want to get their trade up to $100 billion by 2030, and they've got a plan to make it happen.

What They Agreed On

The visit sorted out stronger ties on a few fronts:

- **Energy and Oil**: Russia will keep the crude coming—crucial for India's growing needs, even if Trump threatens more sanctions.

- **Nuclear Power**: They're working more closely on nuclear energy projects, building on what they've already done.

- **Defence**: Russia floated the idea of making Su-57 stealth fighter jets in India, plus working together on cutting-edge tech. They signed a deal between a defence institute in Pune and a Russian one.

Deals Signed

They hammered out quite a few agreements covering practical stuff and sharing expertise:

1. Swapping health experts and researchers to improve medical work together.

2. Food safety deal between India's FSSAI and Russia's consumer protection lot—sharing know-how on standards and inspections.

3. Training for ship crews in icy waters, looking at Arctic shipping routes.

4. Working together on deep-sea mining to get at ocean resources.

5. Urea factory project: India's National Fertilizers teaming up with a Russian agency to build a plant in India and cut import costs.

6. Sharing customs information to speed up trade and crack down on smuggling.

7. Postal agreement to make sending letters and parcels between the countries easier.

8. Defence research partnership.

9. University link between Mumbai University and Moscow's Lomonosov University for student exchanges and joint research.

10. Media deals: Prasar Bharati signed five agreements with Russian media companies like Gazprom Media, National Media Group, Big Asia Media, TV Novosti, and TV BRICS to share news and content.

Other bits included making it easier for Indian workers to go to Russia, helping agriculture, and even an exhibition of Indian crafts in Moscow.

The American Situation

Right when Putin arrived on 4 December, the US released its National Security Strategy 2025. It names India as important in the Indo-Pacific and wants stronger Quad ties (with the US, Japan, and Australia) to counter China. But it also calls for peace in Ukraine and better relations with Russia—showing Trump's America is less focused on Europe. Still, the US isn't happy about India buying Russian oil, saying it's funding the war.

 The Dinner Row

The trip caused a bit of a stink back home. President Droupadi Murmu threw a fancy dinner for Putin at Rashtrapati Bhavan, but two big opposition figures—Rahul Gandhi (Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha) and Mallikarjun Kharge (party chief and Rajya Sabha opposition leader)—weren't invited. Congress kicked off about this, calling it a "protocol breach" since opposition leaders normally get to meet important foreign visitors. To make matters worse, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (who chairs the foreign affairs committee) was invited and said he'd go, which wound up his own party. Spokesman Pawan Khera said it was "surprising" and questioned why he'd go when the top brass weren't invited. Rahul had already complained about the government's "insecurity" stopping these meetings. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar saw Putin off at the airport when he left.

 

Bottom Line

All in all, the visit was a win for India-Russia relations, showing their friendship can handle pressure from around the world. It sets things up for more cooperation down the line, but with US tariffs looming and the Ukraine situation hanging over everything, India's got to tread carefully. As Putin said, their partnership is "time-tested" and ready for whatever's coming.