India-Russia: Why Relations Between the Two Have Advanced After Years

We discuss the relationship between the long time allies India and Russia and what came out of the recent meeting.

Podcast on India-Russia Relations and Bilateral Meetings. Image used for representation only.

(Photo: Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

New Delhi rolled out the red carpet on 6 December for Russian President Vladimir Putin and if you are asking why we are talking about a visit that lasted just a few hours, it's because of the symbolism attached to it.

The first is that the Russian president has been very cautious about going abroad during the pandemic and this is only the second time he has ventured out, the only other time was for a meeting with US President Biden.

Preceding the Modi-Putin meet were also high-level dialogues between the two countries defence and external affairs ministry. According to statements by the govt, 28 agreements were signed which include a 10-year cooperation defence agreement, a new consular office in the city of Vladivostok and the final go-ahead of the much-awaited S-400 missile system.

But there is a larger picture behind these meetings and that's the growing influence of China. Over the past year, we have seen several 2+2 dialogues with the US, Japan and Australia, all of which are QUAD members.

However, a dialogue with Russia, a long time friend and economic partner of China, may cast a worrying shadow over the ties the countries have.

In today’s episode, we will discuss the relationship between the long time allies India and Russia and what came out of the recent meeting.

For this, we spoke with Harsh V Pant, Director, Studies and Head of the Strategic Studies Programme at Observer Research Foundation, Dr Tara Kartha, a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies and Aditi Bhaduri, a columnist specialising in Eurasian geopolitics.