India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Russia on Monday for his first visit to the country since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a sign that the two nations remain close despite the Kremlin’s deepening dependence on China.

During his two-day visit, Modi is expected to attend a private dinner hosted by Vladimir Putin and hold talks with the Russian president, according to India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

The summit will “provide an opportunity to the two leaders to review the whole range of bilateral issues,” Jaiswal told reporters in New Delhi last week, adding that Modi and Putin will “also share perspectives on regional and global developments of mutual interest.”

India remains heavily reliant on the Kremlin for its military equipment and has ramped up purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, giving Putin’s nation a major financial lifeline as it faces isolation from the West.

Trade between the two countries was worth nearly $65 billion in 2023-24, primarily due to strong energy cooperation, but most of that total flowed toward Russia, Jaiswal said.

Reducing the trade imbalance would be a “matter of priority” in Modi’s discussions with Putin, he added.

Modi last met with Putin on the sidelines of the 2022 SCO meeting in Uzbekistan, when he told the Russian leader: “Now is not the time for war.”

But while India has called for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine and restoration of peace, it has also abstained from all resolutions on Ukraine at the United Nations and stopped short of condemning Russia’s invasion.

“I look forward to reviewing all aspects of bilateral cooperation with my friend President Vladimir Putin and sharing perspectives on various regional and global issues,” Modi said in a statement from his office before departing for Russia. “We seek to play a supportive role for a peaceful and stable region.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in the wake of Russia’s deadly attacks on Ukraine Monday, said it was a “huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day.”

Following Modi’s arrival, Putin showed the Indian leader around his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo in the Moscow region. They greeted each other with a hug, chatted over tea and rode around in an electric vehicle. Putin also showed Modi the stables and they watched a horse show.

The trip is Modi’s first bilateral visit since winning a third consecutive term in a massive general election last month and is seen as a rare break in convention for an Indian leader who typically travels to neighboring countries such as Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

The visit also comes as Russia draws ever closer to China, potentially making New Delhi uncomfortable due to its longstanding Himalayan border dispute with Beijing, which has simmered in recent years.

Modi’s trip follows Putin’s return from Kazakhstan, where the Russian leader last week attended the annual leaders’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a bloc of Eurasian countries spearheaded by China and Russia, at which he claimed Moscow-Beijing relations were experiencing “the best period in their history.”

For India, that burgeoning relationship is “a matter of deep concern,” said Nandan Unnikrishnan, a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

“That is one of the reasons that Mr. Modi is undertaking this trip because traditionally, the Soviet Union and then subsequently Russia, has been a balancer in our relationship with China, which has been not the best since the late ’50s of the last century,” he said.

Despite India being an SCO member, Modi was visibly absent from the meeting in Kazakhstan, indicating to some analysts that the leader of the world’s largest democracy does not view the bloc as an effective channel through which New Delhi can pursue its interests.

Modi’s visit to Russia is also widely seen as the latest dent in efforts by Western leaders to cast Putin aside.

Despite undermining Western sanctions by purchasing large quantities of Russian oil, New Delhi has remained close with the United States, a key partner as both countries share concerns over China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.

Modi met with US President Joe Biden during a state visit to Washington in June last year, in a trip further cementing their defense, trade and technology partnership. The Indian leader also addressed Congress during that trip, an honor typically reserved for close US allies and partners, and attended a lavish state dinner. India is a member of the Quad security grouping with the US, Japan and Australia.

Later that year, Putin did not attend the Group of 20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi, during which leaders delivered a consensus statement criticizing his invasion of Ukraine.

Following his Russia trip, Modi will visit Austria in the Indian leader’s first visit to the European nation, according to his office.

Modi, Putin hold talks amid outrage over Ukraine strikes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was set to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, a day after the Indian leader arrived in Moscow amid global outcry over Russian strikes in Ukraine.

Modi, visiting Moscow for the first time since Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine in February 2022, will seek to nurture New Delhi's India's long-standing relationship with Moscow.

At the same time, he is courting closer Western security ties after being returned to power last month as leader of the world's most populous country.

"There are no surprises in preparation. The main thing is to create an atmosphere for meaningful interaction," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV when asked about the talks.

Modi landed in Moscow hours after Russia launched a massive barrage targeting cities across Ukraine Monday that killed more than three dozen people and heavily damaged a children's hospital in Kyiv, sparking condemnation from governments in Europe and North America.

Russia is a vital supplier of cut-price oil and weapons to India, but Moscow's isolation from the West and growing ties with Beijing have impacted its partnership with New Delhi.

Western powers have in recent years also cultivated stronger relations with India as a hedge against China and its growing influence across the Asia-Pacific, while pressuring New Delhi to distance itself from Russia.

The United States on Monday urged Modi to make clear in his talks with Putin that "any resolution to the conflict in Ukraine must... be one that respects the UN Charter with respect to Ukraine's territorial integrity".

Modi last visited Russia in 2019 and hosted Putin in the Indian capital two years later, weeks before Russia began its offensive against Ukraine.

India has largely shied away from explicit condemnation of Russia ever since and abstained on United Nations resolutions targeting the Kremlin.

- Arms, oil and China -

But Russia's fight with Ukraine has also had a human cost for India.

New Delhi said in February it was pushing Moscow to return several of its citizens who had signed up for "support jobs" with the Russian military, following reports some had been killed after being forced to fight in Ukraine.

Moscow's relationship with China has also been a cause for concern.

Washington and the EU accuse China of selling components and equipment that have strengthened Russia's military industry -- allegations Beijing denies.

China and India remain intense rivals competing for strategic influence across South Asia.

India is also part of the Quad grouping with the US, Japan and Australia that positions itself against China's growing boldness in Asia.

New Delhi and Russia have maintained close links since the Cold War, which saw the Kremlin become a key arms provider to the country.

But Ukraine has stretched Russia's weapons supplies thin, pushing India to look for other sources for arms -- including growing its own defence industry.

Russia's share of Indian imports of arms has shrunk considerably in recent years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

At the same time, India has become a major purchaser of Russian crude, providing a much-needed export market for Russia after it was dropped by traditional buyers in Europe.

That has dramatically reconfigured their economic ties, with India saving itself billions of dollars while bolstering Moscow's war coffers.

India's month-on-month imports of Russian crude "increased by eight percent in May, to the highest levels since July 2023", according to commodity tracking data compiled by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

But this has also resulted in India's trade deficit with Russia rising to a little over $57 billion in the past financial year.

From Russia, Modi will travel to Vienna for the first visit to the Austrian capital by an Indian leader since Indira Gandhi in 1983.