Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in New Delhi on Friday ahead of the BRICS summit, discussing India-Russia ties, energy, defence, trade and the conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea, as disruptions caused by the wars continue to affect global trade and the safety of Indian seafarers.
Putin arrived in Delhi early Friday for the 18th BRICS Summit, which begins on Saturday. The meeting with Modi was their second in two weeks, after their talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek on August 31.
This time, however, the backdrop is different.
India is trying to maintain its long-standing relationship with Russia while also managing ties with the United States, Europe and countries in the Gulf and West Asia.
The Russia relationship remains particularly important in energy and defence.
Russia has continued to be a major supplier of crude oil to India. Reuters reported that Russian crude accounted for as much as 51% of India’s oil imports at one point in 2026, as disruptions in the Middle East altered global supply patterns.
That makes the India-Russia relationship more than a diplomatic tradition.
It has a direct connection with India’s energy security.
Defence remains another key pillar
Defence is another major part of the relationship.
India has depended on Russian-origin military equipment for decades, even as New Delhi has increasingly diversified its defence purchases and pushed for domestic manufacturing.
The talks come at a time when both sides are also looking at the next phase of defence cooperation, including the delivery of the remaining S-400 system and possible cooperation around next-generation BrahMos technology. Those issues had been identified ahead of today’s meeting.
But India is no longer looking at the relationship simply through the old buyer-seller model.
The broader push is towards manufacturing, technology, investment and joint production.
Ukraine and West Asia
The wars in Ukraine and West Asia also formed part of today’s discussions.
India has consistently argued that conflicts should be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy rather than military escalation.
That position was reiterated during today’s India-Russia engagement. The two sides also discussed the impact of the conflicts on maritime trade and the safety of Indian seafarers.
For India, this is not an abstract foreign-policy issue.
Any disruption to shipping routes can affect the movement of oil, goods and other essential supplies.
Why Russia still matters to India
India and Russia are trying to expand bilateral trade from nearly $70 billion in 2024-25 towards $100 billion by 2030. The two countries are also exploring cooperation in sectors beyond traditional defence and energy.
The challenge is that India’s foreign policy today is more complicated than it was a decade ago.
New Delhi needs Russia for important strategic and energy interests. At the same time, India has deep economic and technological links with the West and increasingly important relationships across the Gulf.
It also has to manage its difficult relationship with China.
The BRICS summit brings all of these relationships into the same room.
Putin’s Delhi visit comes before BRICS
Russia is one of the 11 members of the expanded BRICS grouping, which is meeting in Delhi on September 12 and 13 under India’s chairmanship.
China’s President Xi Jinping and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian are also attending, making the summit particularly important for India as it tries to use BRICS as a platform for dialogue while maintaining its wider diplomatic relationships.
Today’s Modi-Putin meeting therefore matters beyond the two countries.
It gives India an opportunity to demonstrate that maintaining a close relationship with Moscow does not prevent it from engaging with Washington, Europe, the Gulf or other major powers.
For New Delhi, that balancing act is becoming more difficult – and more important.
