Russian President Putin to visit India in early December to bolster ties

No official word from India or Russia on the planned visit though people familiar with development said that Putin is expected to be in Delhi around December 5

New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India in early December for an annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi aimed at shoring up strategic and economic cooperation in the face of American pressure on New Delhi to roll back ties with Moscow, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in early December will be his first since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. (@PMOIndia X)

There was no official word from India or Russia on the planned visit though people familiar with planning for the trip on both sides said on condition of anonymity that Putin is expected to be in the Indian capital around December 5. The two sides are yet to finalise all details for the visit, including whether it will be for one or two days, the people said.

This will be Putin’s first visit to India since the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and he last travelled to the country in 2021 for the annual summit. The visit will be an opportunity for the leadership to do a stock-taking of bilateral relations, especially amid pressure piled on India by the US to reduce purchases of Russian energy and armaments.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who is also expected to travel to India a month before Putin, said on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York this week that a visit by the president is being planned for December. Besides his official engagements in New Delhi, Putin is expected to launch the new India channel of Russian state-run broadcaster RT.

The people cited above said the Kremlin and the Indian Prime Minister’s Office had been eyeing December 5 as the date for the trip since August.

“The geopolitical and geo-economic situation has changed considerably since August and the Russian president’s visit will allow both sides to take an overall look at the bilateral relationship, and ways to boost trade and economic engagement,” one of the people said.

Economic issues, such as greater access to Russia’s markets and addressing the growing imbalance in trade, are expected to come up in the discussions, the people said. Two-way trade touched a record high of $68.7 billion in 2024-25, mainly on the back of India’s purchases of discounted Russian crude, though Indian exports were worth only $4.88 billion.

Besides a visit by Lavrov in November, Russian defence minister Andrey Belousov is set to travel to New Delhi this month for a meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC), the main body overseeing defence and military ties, the people said.

Modi travelled to Russia for last year’s annual summit and he and Putin have spoken on phone several times since then, with some of the conversations focusing on the situation in Ukraine. The two leaders also met on the margins of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in China in early September, when Modi and Putin reaffirmed their commitment to the bilateral strategic partnership, which will mark its 25th anniversary on October 3.

The two leaders met four days after US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian exports with a 25% punitive levy over Russian oil purchases, and Modi pointedly remarked that India and Russia have “always stood shoulder-to-shoulder even in the most difficult situations”.