Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prior to their meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, 5 December 2025. Photo: EPA / Rajat Gupta
Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks in New Delhi on Friday on the second day of the Russian leader’s two-day state visit to India, his first since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Modi met Putin on the tarmac upon his arrival at New Delhi on Thursday, writing on X that he was “delighted to welcome my friend, President Putin to India”, before hosting a private dinner for the Russian leader.
In televised remarks at the Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace on Friday, where Putin was welcomed with a guard of honour and 21-gun salute, Modi said India was “on the side of peace” in the war in Ukraine and supported efforts to resolve the conflict through diplomatic dialogue.
Putin thanked Modi for his support and said that Russia was working on a “peaceful settlement” in Ukraine.
Joining Putin on his visit are several high-profile Russians figures, including Defence Minister Andrey Belousov, CEO of oil giant Rosneft Igor Sechin, and Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of Russia’s RT propaganda network, which is due to inaugurate its new India bureau later on Friday.
Putin’s first visit to India since 2021 comes as part of Kremlin efforts to bolster its ties with New Delhi amid US pressure on Modi to comply with its sanctions by reducing his country’s dependency on Russian oil.
Following their talks on Friday, Modi said the two countries had agreed on an economic co-operation programme to expand and diversify their trade until 2030, while Putin said that numerous agreements had been signed aimed at strengthening cooperation with India, Reuters reported.
While European countries have drastically reduced their reliance on Russian energy since 2022 — culminating in a provisional deal earlier this week to ban all imports of Russian gas by autumn 2027 — Indian purchases of Russian crude oil have surged from 2.5% to 35% of its total oil imports, driven by heavy discounts.
That increase has attracted the ire of US President Donald Trump, who in August doubled his tariffs on Indian goods to a punishing 50% in an attempt to stop New Delhi buying Russian oil, which serves as an important source of revenue for the Kremlin to finance its war in Ukraine.
In response, Moscow further slashed the price of its crude exports in an effort to guarantee India’s continued custom.
In an interview with news outlet India Today broadcast on the eve of his visit, Putin insisted that Russian oil exports to India were “running smoothly” and questioned Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on New Delhi, saying that the US continued to import nuclear fuel from Russia: “If the US has the right to buy our fuel, why shouldn't India have the same privilege?”
He also added that, despite “external pressure”, India and Russia’s relations were aimed strictly at developing their own interests rather than harming other countries. “In our dealings, we cause no harm to others, and I believe that leaders from other countries should appreciate this”, Putin said.
