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Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India will meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia Monday, a visit that signals the Indian leader\u2019s determination to stick to his own diplomatic path even as the West continues to isolate Moscow over its war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n
For Mr. Putin, Mr. Modi\u2019s visit will be a way for Russia to show that the Kremlin continues to have a strong partnership with India despite India\u2019s deepening<\/a> relationship with the United States. India\u2019s purchases of discounted Russian petroleum have helped fill Russia\u2019s coffers depleted by international sanctions over the war, and Russia has sought to cast India as a partner<\/a> in reshaping the Western-dominated global order.<\/p>\n This is the first visit to Russia by Mr. Modi in five years. He landed in Moscow on Monday and will attend a dinner hosted by Mr. Putin; official talks are scheduled for Tuesday. <\/p>\n Mr. Modi arrived on a day when Russia unleashed a brutal aerial bombardment against Ukraine, including a strike on that country\u2019s largest children\u2019s hospital<\/a>, in Kyiv. The attack has drawn condemnation from the West, and could shine a harsh spotlight on India\u2019s ties with Russia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The South Asian nation became a major buyer<\/a> of cheap Russian oil at a time when sanctions by Western countries limited what Russia could sell or charge for the product in international markets. India is building massive nuclear energy power plants with technical assistance from Russia. Russia is also India\u2019s biggest supplier of arms, making the relationship key for India, which has long had to defend its borders against China. <\/p>\n The meeting in Moscow on Tuesday would coincide with the first day of a high-profile summit of NATO leaders in Washington. During the NATO meeting, Western allies are expected to announce additional air defense<\/a> systems for Ukraine and offer assurances of the alliance\u2019s long-term commitment to Kyiv\u2019s security.<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters in New Delhi ahead of Mr. Modi\u2019s trip, Indian officials said <\/span>the summit between Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin was of \u201cgreat importance,\u201d but emphasized that relations with Russia were not aimed at any third party. They also sought to downplay the timing of the meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cI would not want to read anything more in that in terms of its significance, except to say that we attach great importance to this annual summit,\u201d Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the foreign secretary of India, said at a news conference on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The annual summit is an aspect of a longstanding strategic partnership between India and Russia. The two leaders last met in 2021 as part of that partnership, when Mr. Putin visited Delhi. They have met at other events and spoken on the phone multiple times, Indian officials said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In the nearly two and a half years since launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Putin has attempted to double down on his relationships with global leaders outside the West, as he pursues what he calls a \u201cmultipolar\u201d world order free of singular American dominance.<\/p>\n With its vast economic and military resources, China has become the most critical partner in that effort, but Mr. Putin has also touted relations with other nations, including Vietnam, Brazil and India, to prove that Russia will not succumb to the isolation the West is hoping to see.<\/p>\n At an investment forum in Moscow last December, Mr. Putin praised the Indian leader for pursuing an independent foreign policy and refusing to bow to Western pressure. Mr. Modi hasn\u2019t been \u201cscared, intimidated or forced into taking actions or decisions that would go against the national interests of India and the Indian people,\u201d Mr. Putin said.<\/p>\n For Mr. Modi, the meeting is an opportunity to signal India\u2019s determination to carve its own foreign policy path. India, which needs both the United States and Russia to counter China, is constantly trying to balance its relations between Washington and Moscow. Even as it has bolstered ties with Washington, India has refused to publicly denounce Russia over Ukraine, despite pressure from the United States to do so.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Delhi might be seeking to reinforce its relations with Russia to counter Russia\u2019s growing closeness with China, said Happymon Jacob, an associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and expert on Indian foreign policy. Mr. Putin and President Xi Jinping of China have become increasingly aligned<\/a> after declaring a \u201cno limits\u201d partnership in 2022. (The two leaders hailed their countries\u2019 ties at a meeting in Kazakhstan last week.)<\/p>\n India probably realizes that the United States is \u201cunlikely to penalize India for continuing its relationship with Russia,\u201d Mr. Jacob said, with China emerging as Washington\u2019s \u201cprincipal adversary.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Modi could also take up the contentious issue of Russia\u2019s recruitment of Indian nationals to fight its war on Ukraine, according to Mr. Kwatra, the Indian foreign secretary. Several dozen Indian citizens were lured to Russia under \u201cfalse pretenses,\u201d he said, and the government is working to bring them back.<\/p>\n At the same time, India also needs American backing against China\u2019s potential aggressions in its backyard. China and India have had several border clashes over the decades, including in 2022 and 2020<\/a>, when 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops were killed. India needs munitions to defend its northern and eastern borders.<\/p>\n Russia is India\u2019s largest supplier of military equipment, but over the years, the share of Russian arms has been declining \u2014 partly because that country has older technology. India has sought to diversify its sources of military supplies and pursue defense cooperation agreements, including with the United States. And the United States and India have also said that they would expand cooperation on advanced weaponry, supercomputing and other high-tech fields.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIndia and Russia are longstanding partners.<\/h2>\n
India\u2019s ties with Moscow and Washington are a balancing act.<\/h2>\n
Military, economic and energy ties are on the agenda.<\/h2>\n