India’s delicate balancing act between Moscow and Washington enters a sharper phase

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was on a high profile visit to New Delhi last week and the timing could not have been more interesting. This was Putin’s first visit to India since the Russian attack of Ukraine in 2022.

India is in the middle of tense negotiations with the Trump administration for a trade deal which it hopes will undo the steep punitive tariffs the US President imposed on India for the purchase of Russian oil. At a total of 50 percent, these tariffs against India are the highest in the world. As a result of American sanctions, India has started reducing the purchase of Russian oil drastically to appease Washington but the red carpet for Putin also sent out a message that India had options and would not simply abandon an old friend. This was clear in the fact that Prime Minister Modi personally received the Russian President at the airport on his arrival.

Strong roots

India’s relationship with Russia has strong roots, underlined by a robust defence partnership over the decades. Even though India’s purchase of weapons from Russia has come down over the last few years, Moscow is still India’s top defence supplier. The Russian S-400 missile defence system was a key player for India in the conflict with Pakistan earlier this year.

But New Delhi has also grown closer to the West and expanded its defence and security relationship with America, along with economic ties. During this time, Moscow has also grown closer to China. Yet, the India-Russia friendship remained fairly robust. Which is why Putin’s visit to New Delhi at this time underscored that India was not willing to fall into any “camp” and would stick to a foreign policy purely based on self interest.

Tightrope walk

But that is also easier said than done. What Putin’s visit also highlighted was just how difficult New Delhi’s tightrope walk is at the moment. Apart from the delicately poised talks with Washington, Delhi also has a robust relationship with the European Union or the EU. Ahead of Putin’s trip, controversy flared over an editorial piece written by the envoys of the UK, France and Germany to India which criticised Putin over the Ukraine war. It irritated the Indian foreign ministry which saw it as a criticism of New Delhi’s invitation to the Russian President. But given India’s own outreach to the European Union and talks to have a free trade agreement in place soon, the Indian government response was muted. India and Russia had set an ambitious target of trade at $100 billion by 2030. But with India having to reduce it’s purchases of Russian oil, that target will be harder to reach.

India clearly has a unique relationship with Russia and if it is able to nudge President Putin to seal a peace deal with Ukraine, that would go a long way in mending ties with Washington. Prime Minister Modi in his talks with President Putin on Friday underscored that India was not “neutral” but on the side of peace.

Roller coaster relationship with US

However, the roller coaster relationship with the United States this year has only proved that it is not a reliable friend of India’s. If anything, Donald Trump has done long term damage to the relationship which will take a long time to undo even if a trade deal is reached. The Quad - a grouping of the United States, Japan, Australia and India- had strengthened considerably in recent years but with Trump’s belligerence towards friends and allies, things look hazy. Washington’s double standards are also on display yet again. Its ok for Trump to meet Putin, as he did in Alaska, but not for Putin to meet Modi.

In the long run, India needs good ties with both the EU, America on one side and Russia on the other, primarily to look out for it’s defence and security interests in the neighbourhood. Putting all our eggs into the American basket was never an option and should not be. But no matter how difficult it is, New Delhi will have to keep doing a balancing act for it’s own national interest.