New Delhi<\/a>, said India has avoided taking on an overt mediating role because it could complicate its ties with both Russia and the U.S.<\/p>\n\u201cBut behind-the-scenes diplomacy by Modi is feasible, and has happened already to some extent,\u201d Chaulia said.<\/p>\n
Modi could try to nudge Putin \u201cto accommodate some Ukrainian and European concerns to bring about a cessation of hostilities,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Economic cooperation key focus of Putin\u2019s visit <\/p>\n
India and Russia will look at bolstering their bilateral relation and are expected to deliver a package of documents centered around economic cooperation, trade facilitation, maritime, healthcare and media exchanges, according to Indian officials involved in the summit\u2019s preparation. They spoke on condition of anonymity as the details aren\u2019t public.<\/p>\n
India is keen to increase exports of pharmaceuticals, agriculture and textiles to Russia and is seeking the removal of non-tariff barriers. New Delhi is also seeking long-term supplies of fertilizers from Moscow.<\/p>\n
Another key area where the two countries are working to finalize an agreement is the safe and regulated migration of Indian skilled workers to Russia.<\/p>\n
U.S. pressure on India to shun Russian oil <\/p>\n
The U.S. has pressed India to halt purchases of discounted Russian oil, accusing New Delhi of helping fund Moscow\u2019s war effort. In August, Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian imports to increase pressure over the issue.<\/p>\n
India rejected the charge, saying it follows international sanctions and prioritizes its national interest and energy security. But its position could become more complicated after new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil. Indian officials said the country will avoid buying oil from sanctioned producers, while keeping options open with companies not targeted by the restrictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndia will certainly underscore that there is no Indian desire to cut off energy supplies from Russia completely,\u201d said Harsh Pant, vice president of foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank.<\/p>\n
Pant said future imports will depend \u201con the market forces and how effective sanctions are in weaning away Indian private sector or Indian state-run companies from Russian energy sources.”<\/p>\n
Energy cooperation is expected to feature prominently at the summit, including India\u2019s investments in Russia\u2019s Far East and expanded civil nuclear collaboration. The Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, built with Russian assistance, remains the centerpiece of that partnership, and officials said talks continue on localized equipment manufacturing and potential joint projects in third countries.<\/p>\n
Defense cooperation at the core <\/p>\n
India is expected to push Russia for faster delivery of two further S-400 surface-to-air missile squadrons, after receiving three under a 2018 deal worth about $5.4 billion. The delay has been tied to supply chain disruptions linked to the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Indian authorities are also likely to explore the possibility of acquiring additional S-400 units or an upgraded variant, though no contract or announcement is expected.<\/p>\n
Indian defense planners say the S-400 proved effective during a brief military standoff with Pakistan in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe meeting will focus on broader elements of institutional cooperation on defense between our two sides and will try to ensure that delivery delays are ended. Potentially, S-400 additional is not ruled out, but don\u2019t expect any announcement during the visit,\u201d India\u2019s Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said at a security conference in New Delhi last week.<\/p>\n
Talks are also expected on upgrading India\u2019s Russian-made Su-30MKI fighter jets and accelerating deliveries of critical military hardware, as well as improving coordination on joint exercises and disaster relief.<\/p>\n
Despite India diversifying its procurement of military hardware over the last few years, Russia continues to be its biggest supplier. Moscow is keen on selling its stealth fighter jet Su-57 to India, but New Delhi has kept its options open to other foreign suppliers as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":608970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7655],"tags":[332],"class_list":{"0":"post-608969","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-russia","8":"tag-russia"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115654160874755793","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/608970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}