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Putin Eyes India Visit as New Delhi Balances Ties With Moscow and Washington
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russian leader Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India in December for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in what would mark his first trip to the country since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to NDTV, the visit is tentatively scheduled for December 5–6. Plans for the high-level meeting were first raised during Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s trip to Moscow in August, though exact dates had not been set at the time. Putin and Modi also met briefly in September at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China.
The planned trip comes amid heightened tensions between New Delhi and Washington over India’s continued energy trade with Russia.
India’s crude oil imports from Russia declined in September to about 1.61 million barrels per day from 1.72 million in August, Moscow remains New Delhi’s top supplier. Russian shipments still accounted for roughly one-third of India’s overall imports.
The United States has sought to curb this trade, arguing that revenues from oil sales help finance Russia’s war in Ukraine. Washington recently imposed a 50% tariff on Indian goods as part of broader efforts to pressure New Delhi to reduce purchases from Moscow.
Indian officials, however, have maintained that oil imports are guided by price and supply considerations, and that the country will continue to diversify its energy partners, including through talks with the US.
Earlier, on August 12, The Economic Times reported that India’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of India, suspended all foreign currency and international trade transactions with Nayara Energy, a major Indian refinery partly owned by Rosneft.
