Having mastered the art of losing friends across the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India was a crucial one in terms of testing the depths of age-old relations between the two countries. The dynamics of the friendship have, however, changed. Russia is battling to prop up its economy, battered by sanctions, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government are aggressively looking to explore new frontiers that will boost the exchequer and make India an able competitor in the world and region while thwarting China’s ambitions to whatever extent possible.
A tried and tested avenue of trade with Russia — buying defence equipment — has slowed to an extent, as India, in a bid to boost its defence capabilities, is looking to make purchases from multiple sources as more countries are dispatching their brokers to New Delhi.
This is why the focus has shifted to energy, building nuclear reactors, leasing of Russian nuclear submarines, nailing long-term fixed-price oil contracts, trade in diamonds and constructing oil and gas pipelines. A total of 20 deals have been signed and Putin went home with a positive report card.
While India and Russia will always be strong partners, given that their friendship was sealed during the Cold War era when nations had to draw out their lines in favour of the US, or former Soviet Union, the dynamics are slowly changing.
This is due to the emergence of China, and Russia’s dependence on it, and New Delhi’s new found affection for Washington and vice versa. Blueprints drawn up in the future will have an important bearing on what fulcrums the relationship will rest upon.
For the moment both countries will need to embark on a delicate, diplomatic balancing act to ensure that they do not make any false moves, or promises, that could shun one away from the other. It is a curious inter-dependence, but a necessary one in the face of ever-changing geopolitics where loyalties are constantly shifting.
It is from this script that Putin and Modi will have to act out their relationship.
