Russia and India will reshape their defence ties to take account of New Delhi’s push for self-reliance, the two countries said in a joint statement after a summit between president Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
“In response to India’s aspirations for self-reliance, the partnership is currently being reoriented toward joint research and development, as well as the production of advanced defence platforms,” the statement said.
Moscow has been India’s top arms supplier for decades and has said that it wants to import more Indian goods in an effort to grow trade to £75bn by 2030 that so far has been skewed in its favour due to New Delhi’s energy imports.
A Kremlin aide has said Russia is encouraged by negotiations with the US over the Ukraine war and is ready for more talks, according to Reuters.
Russia and the United States were making progress in talks over a deal on Ukraine and Moscow was ready to continue working with the current US team, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
Ushakov also said Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was working “very actively” on the peace settlement in Ukraine, and that his presence at the talks has added a “systemic nature”. Kushner’s inclusion in the Ukraine talks was a US initiative, Ushakov added.
Ukraine accuses Putin of feigning interest in peace talks while pressing on with the war. At the same time, Kyiv is fearful that Trump and Putin could clinch a deal that would force it to accept deeply unfavourable terms and leave it vulnerable to a new attack by Russia in the future.
Putin and Modi sign further agreements in defiance of US pressure
The results of the Putin-Modi summit are beginning to filter through.
Following talks this morning, Putin said that Russia is ready to continue to provide uninterrupted fuel supplies for India. India has been an important market for Russian oil following its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the Western sanctions that followed.
Putin also said many agreements aimed at strengthening Russia-India cooperation were signed during the talks.
“Russia is a reliable supplier of oil, gas, coal, and everything that is required for the development of India’s energy,” Putin told prime minister Narendra Modi during his visit to New Delhi.
“We are ready to continue uninterrupted shipments of fuel for the fast growing Indian economy.”
We’ll bring you details of the other agreements when we get them.
Updated
Indian political cartoon series, So Sorry, has released an animation showing Narendra Modi driving a motorbike with Vladimir Putin in the sidecar.
The video shows the pair holding hands and singing together in Hindi, and at one point they drive past some surface-to-air missile launchers, which are the subject of a deal between the two countries. When the pair stop for petrol, they are met by an angry-looking Donald Trump at the pumps.
So Sorry is produced by English-language weekly magazine India Today, the most widely circulated magazine in the country.
Updated
US vice president, JD Vance has said he expects “good news” over the next weeks on a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
Asked about his biggest frustration so far as vice president, Vance cited the failure so far to broker a deal to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“Oh, man. I mean, look, the Russia-Ukraine thing has been a source of perennial frustration, I think, for the entire White House,” Vance said in an interview with NBC.
“I think that we really thought – and you’ve heard the president say this a million times – that that would be the easiest war to solve. And if you would put, you know, peace in the Middle East as easier to achieve than peace in Eastern Europe, I would have told you you were crazy.”
Vance added that he remained optimistic. “I do think, for what it’s worth, that we have made a lot of progress, but we’re not yet quite across the finish line there,” he said. “I think there’s hope – should hopefully be some good news the next few weeks on that front.”
Vladimir Putin, sitting beside Narendra Modi at the start of talks, said he expected a “fruitful” day tackling a “a great number of documents”, including in areas of defence, technology, aircraft and space exploration, AFP reports.
“India-Russia friendship is a time-tested one that has greatly benefitted our people,” Modi wrote in a post on social media, accompanying a photograph of them grinning together inside the vehicle.
Delighted to welcome my friend, President Putin to India. Looking forward to our interactions later this evening and tomorrow. India-Russia friendship is a time tested one that has greatly benefitted our people.@KremlinRussia_E pic.twitter.com/L7IORzRfV9
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 4, 2025
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According to Indian officials involved in the preparation for the summit, the agenda includes talks on defence, energy and labor mobility, AP reports.
While India has historically maintained deep ties with Russia, critics say Putin’s visit could strain relations with the European Union and the US and might jeopardise negotiations for major trade agreements with both that are seen as critical for India’s exports.
US President Donald Trump raised tariffs on Indian goods to 50% in August, citing New Delhi’s discounted Russian oil. India has been the second biggest importer of Russian crude after China. India and the US set a target for the first tranche of a trade deal by autumn, but the deal hasn’t come through yet amid strains in relations.
India is also in the final stages of talks on a trade agreement with the EU, which sees Russia’s war in Ukraine as a major threat.
Putin’s India visit, “given the timing and geopolitical context, underscores New Delhi’s strategic tightrope walk between the West and the rest, chiefly Russia,” said Praveen Donthi, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group.
“The significant change now is its desire to be a strategic partner with the US at the same time, which will be a diplomatic challenge,” he added.
The two leaders are meeting against a turbulent geopolitical backdrop, and analysts have emphasised the significance of the Russian president travelling to India, both as a symbol of the enduring relationship between the countries and as a message that neither would be cowed by US pressure amid the Ukraine war. Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Pjotr Sauer have assessed what is at stake for both countries here.
Vladimir Putin was given a cordial greeting on Thursday night at Palam air base in New Delhi. Here are some images from the welcoming ceremony.
Opening summary – Putin and Modi meet amid US trade pressure
Hello and welcome to our coverage of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s trip to Delhi for a summit with prime minister Narendra Modi.
It comes as the US is pushing for a peace deal in Ukraine that is seen as favouring Moscow but also as Washington seeks to increase pressure on India to cut back trade with Russia.
It is the first time Putin has visited India since his fullscale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and marks another step for him on the international stage since a war that has turned Russia into a global pariah and led to restrictions on where he could go without being arrested.
The two are meeting for talks on Friday following a warm welcome on the tarmac on Thursday. Modi greeted Putin at the airport with a hug on a red carpet, before the two rode together in the same car to a private dinner – mirroring a lift that Putin gave Modi when they last met, in China in September.
On the agenda for today are defence deals – in particular sales of Russian S-400 air defence systems and the Sukhoi Su-57 fighter aircraft – as well as energy purchases and wider economic engagement.
The visit follows very public pressure from Donald Trump on India to halt its Russian oil purchases, which culminated in a punishing additional 25% punitive US tariff on Indian imports.
We will bring you the latest as soon as we have it.
