Vladimir Putin’s ongoing visit to New Delhi is expected to yield a handful of trade and migration deals between Russia and India.
But the trip is as much about showmanship as substance.
The Kremlin leader and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been all smiles during their time together. Photos widely distributed on social media show the pair beaming like old pals as they shared a car ride from the airport.
The meeting gives both an opportunity to assert some strategic autonomy in the face of heightened pressure from Donald Trump.
The US president wants Putin to agree to a peace deal in Ukraine and India to stop buying Russian oil, in an effort to raise pressure on Moscow.
Officials in Washington shouldn’t be too surprised by the bromance — Russia and India have been friends since the Soviet era, and New Delhi has consistently bucked efforts to compel it to cool things off with the Kremlin.
But the warmth of the encounter is still likely to furrow brows in the Trump administration. Next week, the US is sending negotiators to New Delhi for yet another round of trade talks. Negotiations have dragged on all year, with little meaningful progress after Trump slapped 50% tariffs on Indian goods in August.
The US delegation isn’t likely to be thrilled with some of the dealmaking taking place before its arrival. On the table during Putin’s visit is an agreement that would clear the way for India to sell more shrimp and agricultural goods to Russia. That would be a bailout for two Indian sectors that used to rely heavily on the US.
Russia likely can’t replace the US as a trade partner to India. But for Modi, a friendship with Putin serves many purposes. — Dan Strumpf