Moody and Putin emphasizes a special relationship as India faces a very slope American tariff on Russian oil imports: NPR

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin formed during their meeting on the sidelines of the Scheghai Cooperation Organization Summit (SCO) in Tianjin, China, Monday, September 1, 2025.

Vladimir Smirnov/AP/Pool Sputnik Kremlin


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Vladimir Smirnov/AP/Pool Sputnik Kremlin

Tianjin, China – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of a regional summit in China on Monday at a presentation of deepening relations when New Delhi’s relations with Washington were strained due to the purchase of Russian oil.

The two leaders held talks after attending the main session of the Cooperation Organization in Shanghai, which gathered in the city of Tianjin in Port, where the discussions focused on regional stability, bilateral trade and energy cooperation.

In his remarks to open the talks, Modi described the partnership with Moscow as “private and distinguished”. Putin Modi was addressed as a “dear friend” and praised Russia’s relations with India as special, friendly and confident.

“Russia and India have maintained special relations for decades. Friendly, confident. This is the basis for developing our relations in the future,” Putin said.

Putin is planning to travel to India in December at the twenty -third annual summit of India and Rasia, according to the advisor to foreign affairs, Yuri Ushakov.

The offered relationships

MDI used a Sco meeting to welcome initiatives aimed at stopping the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and called on stakeholders to move forward.

“To end the conflict at the earliest time and establish peace permanently, we need to know a way. It is an invitation to the entire humanity,” Modi said.

Putin was accompanied by a large delegation that included senior government officials. Russian government media reported that before sitting in their official meeting, Putin and Moody spoke to one on about one for about an hour in a Russian -Putin -Limousine car regularly on foreign trips.

Moments before the leaders lined up for a collective image, Modi was seen hanging Putin’s hand with Gusto to an old friend, and explodes in his heartfelt laugh. The moment was contagious as Putin smiled and laughed, while Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a measured smile. The trio, surrounded by the watchful choices, attracted the parties to the hadith accurately for a few seconds.

Moody Shi met before the opening of the summit on Sunday and the two leaders pledged to solve border differences and enhance cooperation.

Washington is pushing between China, Russia and India

The bilateral meeting on Monday between Modi and Putin implemented additional importance by the coming days after US President Donald Trump imposed an additional 25 % tariff on Indian imports, raising total duties to 50 % highly slope, in response to India’s continuous purchases of Russian reduced oil.

Washington has repeatedly warned of New Delhi against buying Russian crude, which it said partially maintains Moscow’s revenues on its feet to finance the Ukrainian war. India defended its imports as necessary to meet the increasing energy needs of 1.4 billion people.

Analysts said that Trump’s sharp definitions and the tone coming from the White House pushed New Delhi near China and Russia.

“While the revitalization of Chinese Indoch before Trump, his policies are accelerating, as India seems to be working closely with China and Russia to decline against the unilateral economic unilaterals in the United States,” said Harsh Ban, Vice President of Foreign Policy at New Tank Tank.

Moody traveled to Russia twice last year. The first was a visit to Moscow to hold talks with Putin in July, which was his first trip to Russia since the full invasion of Ukraine by the Kremlin forces in February 2022. Then he traveled to Kazan in October in favor of the BRICS summit of developing economies.

Trump’s reaction

As Shi, Putin and Moody also showed an extraordinary unit, Trump continued on Monday in New Delhi.

With the conclusion of the summit, Trump accused in a social media post that the United States’ commercial relationship was historically “one of the face!” Trump also felt that he was high in Russian oil purchases and indicated that there was no commercial deal with New Delhi on the horizon.

“They now offered to reduce their tariffs to nothing, but it is late,” Trump said in publishing on the truth platform. “They had to do so for years. Only some simple facts for people to think !!!”

SCO countries participate in the history of commercial partnerships

Russia has had strong relations with India since the Cold War, and the importance of New Delhi as a major commercial partner has grown since the war between Moscow and Ukraine.

China and India became the main buyers of Russian oil after the West avoided Russian exports to punish Moscow.

India has historically bought most of the crude from the Middle East, but the third largest importer in the world after China and the United States began to buy Russian oil available at reduced prices. Russia now represents about 37 % of total oil imports in India, according to analysts and Indian officials.

Trade between India and Russia has increased sharply in recent years, reaching $ 68.7 billion in the fiscal year 2024-25. Imports from Russia amounted to about 64 billion dollars, and the total exports of India amounted to about $ 5 billion, according to Indian government data.

The two countries aspire to support trade to $ 100 billion by 2030.

Sardar Chulia, the international expert at the New Delhi School of International Decisions, said that Modi’s meeting with Putin emphasized the New Delhi position that India has the throwing of its old and reliable strategic partners and has sufficient strategic independence in its foreign policy to maintain its multiple partnership.

At the same time, the Indian government hopes that the current harsh weather between India and the United States will be a temporary deviation.

“India can return happily to the Russian cake and eat the American pie as part of the multiple monotheism strategy,” said Chulia.

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