Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek on Monday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit — a bloc often seen as a counterweight to US influence. The meeting comes against the backdrop of the fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran, which has disrupted global energy markets, and Russia's war in Ukraine, which is in its fifth year. India has remained engaged with the SCO while resisting efforts to turn it into an anti-Western bloc.
Its position reflects a broader effort to maintain relationships with competing powers. That approach is under greater pressure. Russia remains under Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, India has faced US pressure over its purchases of Russian oil, alongside wider trade tensions. Former Indian ambassador to the US Meera Shankar told DW that India's relationship with Moscow should not be seen as directed against Washington. "India has a long-standing strategic relationship with Russia.
This is not directed against any country but intended to help India meet its national goals," said Shankar. Energy has become the most visible change in the India-Russia relationship since the Ukraine war. Before 2022, when Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia supplied only a small share of India's crude imports.
Discounted Russian oil rapidly changed that, making Moscow one of India's biggest suppliers. It has also become the most contentious part of India's relationship with Washington. The US has pressed New Delhi to reduce its purchases from Russia, while India has maintained that securing affordable and reliable energy is a national interest.
The disruption to traditional energy supplies has made that calculation more complicated. The US-Israel war on Iran and disruption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have affected India's purchases from the Gulf and pushed up prices. Shankar says India is responding by diversifying its sources of supply, including Russia and the US.
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