Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday left for a two-day visit to Russia to take part in the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan from October 22-24 under Russia’s chairmanship.
On the sidelines of the summit, being held under the chairmanship of Russia from October 22-24, PM Modi will hold bilaterals with Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders from other BRICS member nations. The grouping, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (added in 2010), expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates this year.
Noting that this was his second visit to Russia this year, the prime minister said: “Building upon the Annual Summit held in July 2024 in Moscow, my visit to Kazan will further reinforce the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. I look forward to meeting other leaders from BRICS as well.”
PM Modi’s endorsement of Russia — which has been given a cold shoulder by the West due to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine — came a day after foreign minister S Jaishankar’s succinct response to a question at a media conclave on Russia-India ties.
Emphasising that India’s relationship with Russia is time-tested, Jaishankar said: “I’ll put it to you very simply. If you look at our history with the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia since Independence in 1947, I can say with confidence that Russia has never done anything to impact India’s interest negatively.” He added that “it is a big statement to make because there are not many major countries in the world for whom such a statement can be made”.
The minister added: “Today, Russia’s situation is different and Russia’s relationship with the West has broken down. We now have a Russia which is turning much more towards Asia (than Europe and the West), so we must ask ourselves that if Russia is looking more at Asia, should Russia not have multiple options in Asia? And as an Asian country, should we (India) not do in Asia that which is in our national interest?”
“Clearly, Russia as a major natural resources power has a complementarity with India at this stage of development when we are big resource consumers. People talk about Russian oil, but it isn’t just about oil. It could be about fertilisers, metal, coal, etc. So, there is a big economic logic to it as well.”
Jaishankar also said that apart from the economic relationship, the two countries share a strategic bond. “There is a basic strategic logic. If you look at the Eurasian landmass, there are three big countries (Russia, China and India). It is a one-o-one in international relations, that a country will always maintain the balance in relationship with the country which is your immediate neighbour’s neighbour — and do so in very good stead.”
But why exactly are ties with Russia so important for India?
INDIA’S GAIN
Since the era of the Cold War, Russia has been a time-tested ally for India with key cooperation in defence, oil, nuclear energy and space exploration.
The Soviet Union helped mediate a ceasefire between India and Pakistan to end the 1965 war over control of Kashmir. Then, during India’s war with Pakistan in December 1971, the Soviet Union used its veto power to support India at the United Nations, while the US ordered a task force into the Bay of Bengal in support of Pakistan.
In the early 1990s, the USSR represented about 70 per cent of Indian army weapons, 80 per cent of its air force systems, and 85 per cent of its navy platforms.
India bought its first aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, from Russia in 2004. The carrier had served in the former Soviet Union and later in the Russian Navy.
India’s air force presently operates more than 410 Soviet and Russian fighters, comprising a mix of imported and license-built platforms. India’s inventory of Russian-made military equipment also includes submarines, tanks, helicopters, submarines, frigates and missiles.
India has been reducing its dependency on Russian arms and diversifying its defence procurements, buying more from countries like the US, Israel, France and Italy. But experts say it may take 20 years to get over its dependence on Russian supplies and spares.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States and European nations set a cap of $60 a barrel for Russian oil to control Moscow’s rising revenue. India’s oil purchases from Russia have risen sharply despite the sanctions.
Called out by the West, India remained committed, with Jaishankar — speaking on the Russia vs Western allies debate — famously saying: “If I am smart enough to have multiple options, you should be admiring me.”
As of 2023, Russian oil accounted for nearly 20 per cent of India’s annual crude imports, up from just 2 per cent in 2021, according to several media reports.
According to Russian ambassador to India Denis Alipov, the West’s sanctions on Russia have led to closer trade and economic cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi.
“Talking about the explosive, record growth of our cooperation in the energy field, our oil supplies, it would be appropriate to say that the sanctions that were introduced and expanded against us, in this case, had the opposite effect and became a catalyst for our trade relations,” Alipov told a news channel.
The ambassador suggested that New Delhi “will continue to be interested in maintaining this high level” relationship. “Of course, we are also interested in this… We have a very extensive, comprehensive cooperation, including in the field of economy and trade,” he said.
BLOW HOT, BLOW COLD WITH WEST
It was about 25 years ago that President Clinton ended the stalemate in US-India relations. From defence cooperation to bilateral trade, both India and the United States have come a long way but a closer look reveals that all is not well under the surface.
History shows that the US entered an alliance with India’s arch-rival Pakistan in 1954, and sided with the Pakistani military in the 1971 civil war that gave birth to Bangladesh. When then prime minister Indira Gandhi signed a “Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation” with the USSR in 1971, it was seen as an answer to United States’ tilt towards Pakistan.
Over the years, apart from the several trade restrictions put on India, New Delhi’s decision to foster alternative non-Western groupings like the BRICS remains a major cause of concern. To add to it, India remains outside bodies central to US diplomacy like the UN Security Council and the G7. According to the RAND Corporation — an American think-tank — although India participates in US-led formats such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (along with Australia and Japan) and supports some of Washington’s interests, New Delhi’s desire for multipolarity sometimes manifests itself as anti-Western.
Another cause of concern for the West recently has been India’s reluctance to condemn Russia’s offensive against Ukraine. India has so far refused Western entreaties to condemn the Ukraine war, speaking instead about the need to respect international law and sovereignty and territorial integrity.
What has also thrown a spanner in the works is US’ constant need to comment on India’s internal affairs. For instance, many policymakers in Washington continue to be concerned that PM Modi and the BJP have transformed India’s secular and liberal fabric. In 2021, Freedom House downgraded India’s score from “free” to “partly free,” citing “rising violence and discriminatory policies affecting the Muslim population”. India condemned the move and asked US to look at the skeletons in its closet instead.
Recent reports that India may have backed covert missions to commit extrajudicial killings in Canada and the United States have also shocked Washington. Apart from Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s baseless allegations against India, in November last year, prosecutors in New York unsealed an indictment charging an unnamed Indian government official with hiring a hitman to kill the leader of Sikhs for Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, whom India considers a terrorist. India officially denied any culpability, claiming that “rogue operatives” not authorised by the Indian government were involved.
BALANCING ACT?
According to Praveen Donthi, senior analyst for India at the International Crisis Group, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s balancing act between the West and Russia is expected to continue. This also explains India’s ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ [world is one] outlook towards foreign policy.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency — the state-run news agency headquartered in Ankara, Turkey — Donthi said: “India’s most trusted and time-tested bilateral relationship is probably with Russia. It’s been at the heart of India’s foreign and strategic policy for a long time. It strengthened after the 1971 rapprochement between the US and China, with its arch-rival Pakistan already close to them. New Delhi signed a treaty with Moscow to balance the alliance.”
He added that Moscow also “helped India by sharing nuclear technology when the West was reluctant”.
Donthi also said the cooperation shows that India “believes in giving Russia more options and avenues to engage with, rather than leave it alone to China”.
According to Wajahat Qazi, an international relations expert, India is looking to keep its options open in an increasingly multipolar world. “Despite the West’s wooing of India into its orbit, India, albeit in a different permutation and combination, remains wedded to its strategic autonomy foreign policy paradigm,” he told Anadolu.
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