Since the start of the war, India has become one of the biggest importers of Russian oil.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India later this year, says NSA Ajit Doval
- No official Moscow statement has yet confirmed Putin's visit to India
- US President Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Indian imports over Russian oil purchases
Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit India soon, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval said on Thursday. Doval, who is in Moscow, did not specify the dates, but Interfax news agency reported it's likely to take place later this year.
"We have got a special, long relationship, and we value this relationship. We have had high-level engagement, and these high-level engagements have contributed very substantially. We are very excited and delighted to learn about the visit of President Putin to India. I think the dates are almost finalised now," the NSA said.
So far, there has been no official statement from Moscow about the visit.
But the tour's announcement comes amid heightened tensions between New Delhi and Washington over India's trade relations with Russia. US President Donald Trump has accused India of aiding Moscow's war on Ukraine by purchasing Russian energy, derailing trade talks between India and the United States.
On Wednesday, Trump signed a new executive order, imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on imports from India, over New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian oil. The US President has also threatened to hit purchasers of Russian oil with secondary tariffs unless Moscow agrees to pause the war in Ukraine, which is now in its fourth year, by Friday.
India-Russia Trade
India and Russia have shared a long-standing relationship, with bilateral trade and investment ties dating back to the Soviet era. Over the years, the two nations have strengthened their economic cooperation, with bilateral trade reaching unprecedented heights.
Since the start of the war nearly four years ago, India has become one of the biggest importers of Russian oil. By May 2023, India was buying more than two million barrels of crude a day, or roughly 45 per cent of its imports.
President Putin's visit can serve as a high-stakes moment in India's geopolitical strategy. The timing-- conveniently coinciding with Trump's tariff threats-- could reinforce the resilience of the Indo-Russian ties, even as New Delhi seeks to manage its complex relations with Washington.
Trump-Putin Meeting
The Kremlin on Thursday said Putin is also scheduled to meet Trump in the coming days. The Russian President's Foreign Affairs Adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said the two sides are working on setting up a meeting, and that a venue for the meeting has been agreed on and will be announced later.
Next week is the target date for a summit, Ushakov said, while noting that such events take time to organise and no date is confirmed. The possible venue will be announced "a little later," he said.
He brushed aside the possibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joining the summit, something the White House had said Trump was ready to consider. Putin has spurned Zelenskyy's previous offers of a meeting to clinch a breakthrough.
Western officials have repeatedly accused Putin of stalling for time in peace negotiations to allow Russian forces time to capture more Ukrainian land. Putin has previously offered no concessions and will only accept a settlement on his terms.
