New Delhi, December 4 — Former Indian diplomat Mahesh Sachdev said that during President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming state visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Putin are expected to discuss alternative ways to maintain the crucial oil trade between India and Russia amid growing Western pressure, while pushing toward a bilateral trade goal of USD 100 billion by 2030. Sachdev noted that summits at this level allow leaders to take strategic decisions and set fresh directions for the relationship. He pointed to recent high-level diplomacy as part of the broader context, recalling that President Putin recently held a five-hour meeting at the Kremlin with a US envoy and an associate. Sachdev suggested the leaders may seek mechanisms to manage the oil equation ‘through other means’ and indicated that both sides appear committed to raising trade to USD 100 billion by 2030 regardless of oil-related complications. The visit is Putin’s first to India since the Ukraine conflict began in 2022; his last trip was in December 2021. He is due to arrive in New Delhi Thursday evening for the two-day state visit and to take part in the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit. India-Russia oil and energy ties have been affected as US-led efforts to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv have intensified. In August, the United States imposed an additional 50 percent tariff on certain Indian imports, citing India’s purchases of Russian oil, which the US says help finance Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. Sachdev also said the leaders are likely to address broader geopolitical issues, including developments in Europe, relations among major powers such as China, Russia and the United States, and regional developments in South Asia. This report is sourced from a syndicated feed and published as received.
