As the winter lowers India’s capital New Delhi’s temperature, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s one day sojourn on December 6 warmed up the chilling Indo-Russian ties. In fact, India is the second state visit of Putin after his first trip to Geneva earlier this summer for a tête-à-tête with US President Joe Biden.
Prior to his visit to attend the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit, India hosted a 2+2 dialogue with Russia for the first time on the same day, on December 6. In the strategic dialogue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu caught up with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The dialogue will recur alternatively in Russia and India. In the past, India held 2+2 dialogue with the Quad partners namely Australia, Japan and the US only.
Putin mentioned that bilateral trade grew by 38%t in the first year. Both states expect bilateral trade to peck $30 billion by 2025 from the current mark of $10 billion. The investment will most likely be around $50 billion by 2025, which is around $38 billion now.
Both sides vowed to enhance transport and connectivity between Russia and India. A direct maritime corridor between Chennai and Vladivostok is being set up. Once the corridor gets ready, the new route will cut the shipping time to 24 days, in comparison to 40 days via the usual circuitous European route. Trade will further promote the bilateral ties between India and Russia.
Russia is not just one of the largest investment destinations for the Indian oil and gas companies but also one of the largest weapon suppliers to India. Recently, there has been a sharp fall in Indian defence purchases from Russia. India is buying more weapons from Europe and Israel and carrying out more exercises with the Quad states.
In the 2+2 dialogue, India and Russia inked about 28 deals including one to extend the military-technical cooperation till 2031. In assistance of Russia, India will produce about 6.1 lakh Ak-203 assault rifles from its ordnance factory at Korwa, Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. The two states are in talks for procuring MiG-29K and more T-90 tanks. As about 320 helicopters are aging, Russian may bag some big orders from New Delhi in near future.
India brought up China’s unexpected aggressive move along the Line of Actual Control in the bilateral strategic talks with Russia. Despite New Delhi’s close affinity with Washington, Russia and India continue joint drills. The most recent joint exercises include INDRA-NAVY 2021, INDRA-ARMY 2021 and ZAPAD multilateral exercises. India got immense importance in the Russian maritime Doctrine 2015. Issuing a joint statement called ‘Druzhba-Dosti: A Vision for strengthening the Indian-Russian partnership over the next decade’ in 2014, PM Modi and President Putin had emphasized the need of strengthening bilateral ties.
The turmoil in Afghanistan is a matter of great concern for Russia. As it is for India. After the Taliban's assumption of power, India lost its influence in Afghanistan. Russian may consider India’s appeals to secure Indian interests in the country. Modi and Putin underscored the need for peace and stability in the region. Both leaders expressed concerns about the terror bases in Afghanistan. In November, Russia and India along with six other states participated in the Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan, which was hosted by India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Russia then emphasized the importance of the Moscow Format discussions.
Earlier in the Eastern Economic Forum-2021 in September, Modi had called Putin "a great friend of India." Modi and Putin are expected to explore ways to strengthen bilateral ties and work closely in mutual forums like G20, BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Since the Soviet Union and India established diplomatic relations in 1947, the two states built and enjoyed amiable relations. The Soviet support to India in Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War is above all. Besides, the Soviet supported India’s sovereignty over Kashmir as well as Goa. The two states inked Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in January 1993 , the Military-Technical Cooperation agreement in 1994 and eventually became strategic partners in 2000.
India’s arrangement of 2+2 dialogue is a reflection of its strategic autonomy and importance of Russia in its foreign policy. India’s S-400 deal clearly says much about its readiness to face American sanction. Turkey faced similar issues for procuring the F-35 fighter jet. Foundations of the ties between India and Russia do not lack strength. The visit of Putin and formation of the strategic forum 2+2 staunchly defended that.
Ayanangsha Maitra is an Indian freelance journalist, associated with The Peninsula Foundation, India and Bay of Bengal Conversation 2022 in Dhaka. He tweets at @Ayanangsha