Modi and Putin Hold Bilateral Talks in Delhi Ahead of BRICS Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Delhi on Friday afternoon for a bilateral meeting lasting about 45 minutes, a day before the two-day BRICS summit gets underway. The talks began at 3.30 pm. No details of the discussions have been released.

Oil is expected to have featured prominently. Russia remains one of India's largest suppliers of crude, and although imports dropped 26 per cent in August, Delhi still purchased roughly two million barrels per day. The relationship has been underscored by the war in Iran and the squeeze on imports through the Strait of Hormuz, and it has persisted despite pressure from the West, particularly the United States, to scale down purchases that Washington says help fund the war in Ukraine.

Another likely focus was the effort to raise bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030. Trade between the two countries stood at nearly $70 billion in FY25.

Defence was the third probable area of discussion, including proposals to sell the Sukhoi Su-57 fighter. The fifth-generation jet, designed to compete with the US F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning, can operate in multiple roles and carries stealth technologies, advanced sensors and electronic warfare suites.

The two leaders may also have discussed strengthening civil nuclear ties, including in areas such as fuel and life-cycle support, as well as cooperation on critical minerals.

This is the second time in three weeks that Modi and Putin have met. Their previous encounter was in Kyrgyzstan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, where the Prime Minister delivered a message of peace. "We must move from endless wars to ending wars," he said, urging the Russian leader to consider that all issues can be resolved through peaceful means.

For Putin, this is his first visit to India since December last year, when he attended an India-Russia summit. It is also his first in-person attendance at a BRICS summit since the war against Ukraine began in February 2022.