New Delhi [India], December 4 (ANI): Former Indian diplomat Mahesh Sachdev said Thursday that during President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming state visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Putin are likely to explore alternative ways to sustain the vital oil trade between India and Russia amid mounting Western pressure, while advancing a bilateral trade target of USD 100 billion by 2030.
Speaking ahead of Putin’s two-day visit, Sachdev noted that summits at this level allow leaders to take strategic decisions and chart new directions for the relationship.
“These summits take strategic decisions and set a new direction for the relationship at the highest level… Only two days ago, President Putin had a five-hour-long meeting at the Kremlin with President Trump’s envoy and his son-in-law. So those issues will be in the backdrop of this summit,” Sachdev said.
He added that the leaders “would perhaps be working on how to state this oil equation through other means… The two sides seem to have decided to raise trade to USD 100 billion by 2030, irrespective of the oil equation.”
The visit is Putin’s first to India since the Ukraine conflict began in 2022; his last visit was in December 2021. Putin is due to arrive in New Delhi Thursday evening for the two-day state visit and to participate in the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit.
India-Russia oil and energy trade has been affected as US-led efforts to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv have taken center stage. 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 fund Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
Sachdev said the leaders are also expected to discuss wider geopolitical issues, including the situation in Europe, relations among major powers such as China, Russia, and the United States, and developments in South Asia.
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