Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi on the evening of December 4 for a two-day State Visit to take part in the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit. It was his first trip since the Ukraine conflict began in 2022; his previous visit to India was in December 2021. The visit was at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hosted a private dinner for Putin soon after his arrival.
On December 5, Putin received a ceremonial welcome and a tri-services guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He then visited Raj Ghat to pay respects at Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial. He and Prime Minister Modi held restricted-format talks with their delegations at Hyderabad House, with joint press statements planned after discussions.
Officials said a package of agreements was being prepared, focusing on trade, the economy, agriculture and academic cooperation. The Kremlin described the agenda as comprehensive, covering political, trade and economic, scientific and technological, cultural and humanitarian cooperation as well as current international and regional issues. Russian state media reported some 10 intergovernmental documents and more than 15 commercial and non-commercial agreements and memorandums were in preparation for signing.
The leaders also took part in a joint business event organised by FICCI and Roscongress at Bharat Mandapam. Putin was scheduled to formally launch the Indian channel of Russian state broadcaster RT at an event at the ITC Maurya hotel, and to attend a State dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before his departure.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the visit offered an opportunity to review bilateral ties, articulate a vision for strengthening the “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership,” and exchange views on regional and global developments.
Ahead of the summit, Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister and co-chair of the India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission, Denis Manturov, called the visit a return to the tradition of annual high-level summits and a major step to deepen the strategic partnership. Manturov said talks would emphasize expanded industrial cooperation, progress on joint investment projects and wider collaboration in high-technology areas, while providing a forum for direct business-to-business engagement.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said defence matters could feature in talks, noting the possible discussion of additional S-400 air-defence systems and the potential sale of Su-57 fighters. He highlighted ongoing cooperation on BrahMos missiles, exchanges in advanced technologies, and the prospect of agreements on nuclear energy.
The two leaders last met in person on September 1 at the SCO Summit in Tianjin. Putin’s visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the strategic partnership, launched in October 2000 and elevated to a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership” in December 2010. Strengthening trade and economic ties is a stated priority, with a goal of raising bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030; bilateral trade reached a record $68.7 billion in 2024–25.
On December 2, Russia’s Duma ratified an intergovernmental Reciprocal Exchange of Logistic Support (RELOS) agreement, signed in Moscow on February 18, 2025. The treaty is intended to streamline procedures for dispatching military personnel, ships and aircraft to each other’s territory for joint exercises, training, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and other agreed activities.
Putin’s delegation included senior ministers and officials, representatives of the Federal Customs Service, Rosfinmonitoring and the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (headed by Dmitry Shugayev), as well as CEOs of major state firms such as Roscosmos, Rosatom and VEB.RF. Business delegations featured leaders of Rosneft, Sberbank, Basic Element, Rusal, VTB Bank, the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers, Roskhim and Transmashholding, among others.
