source:- energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com
This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin is visiting India. This has gotten a lot of attention around the world as governments and experts try to figure out how the meeting could change India’s trade and strategic balance with both Russia and the United States.
Putin is going to India for the first time since the war in Ukraine began. This war has changed the way the world buys and sells energy, supplies weapons, and makes diplomatic deals. For New Delhi, the visit comes at a time when there are both chances and stress.
India has gotten a lot of cheap Russian crude oil since early 2022, making Russia its biggest oil supplier. This access has made India’s energy security stronger during a time of global instability, but it has also made India more vulnerable to sanctions and diplomatic pushback from Western partners. Ajay Srivastava, who started the Global Trade Research Initiative, says that things are especially complicated right now.
The United States keeps telling India to buy less Russian oil and more American goods and defense equipment. As a result, people are looking at the visit through a careful lens of both economic and geopolitical factors.
The Global Trade Research Initiative says that the best way to understand Putin’s visit is as a negotiation that was shaped by the need to protect against problems in the global supply chain and manage risk. The group says that the results of this meeting will set the tone for future cooperation in Energy, defense. A conservative outcome would keep the current agreements about oil and military support in place. A more ambitious outcome could change the economy in the region for years to come.
Putin is going to India for High Stakes for Energy, Defence, and Geopolitics
The think tank stresses that the trip is not about picking sides. Instead, it’s about managing dependence and making room for strategic flexibility in a world that is becoming more and more divided.
The India-Russia partnership has lasted through many ups and downs over the years. The US sided with Pakistan during the Cold War and sent the USS Enterprise to the subcontinent in 1971. In response, the Soviet Union sent military help to India and protected its diplomatic interests at the UN. In the years after the 1962 war with China, Moscow also stood by India and often supported India over Kashmir in international forums. Russia kept working with India on defense even after Western countries put sanctions on India after its nuclear tests in 1998.
For many years, Russia gave strategic technologies to other countries that Western countries couldn’t get. Because of this, as much as 70% of India’s current military stock comes from Russia. The partnership was formed during times of conflict and strengthened by trust built during times of strategic weakness.
Energy, defense, and diplomacy are the three main pillars that hold the relationship together today. Energy has become the most important pillar since Russia became India’s biggest supplier of crude oil, accounting for almost a third of all of India’s imports. India has been able to keep inflation in check and get reliable supplies during a time of global uncertainty because of discounted barrels.
Putin is going to India for Energy, defense is still the second pillar. Russia still takes care of most of India’s front-line platforms, such as tanks, submarines, aircraft, and air defense systems. India is still talking about maintenance, spare parts, and future cooperation as it tries to make its defense ecosystem more reliable and diverse.
The third pillar is diplomacy, which is done through working together in groups like BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Eastern Economic Forum. Working together also includes nuclear energy, space exploration, fertilizers, and connecting infrastructure.
As India strengthens its ties with the US, Europe, and Japan, it still sees Moscow as an important partner in keeping its strategic independence. So, Putin is going to India be a big test of how well India can balance its long-standing relationship with Russia with the quickly changing world order.
Also Read Business Minds Media India For more information