India is set to host Russia’s Putin, deepening ties, unfazed by U.S.

As India reels under punitive U.S. tariffs over its purchases of Russian oil, New Delhi is all set to host President Vladmir Putin for a two-day visit, signaling its determination to deepen ties with Moscow.

The visit indicates that India wants to “maintain its relations with Russia, especially at a time when it sees the United States as unreliable and China as hostile,” said Ian Bremmer, president and founder of political risk consultancy firm Eurasia Group.

Putin will be in India on Dec 4-5 for the 23rd India-Russia annual summit, with experts saying the two countries will extend their strategic and trade ties.

While this visit was planned before U.S.-India ties soured, it signifies that “New Delhi is not beholden to the whims of the Trump administration and that it maintains an independent foreign policy,” said Chietigj Bajpaee, senior research fellow for South Asia in the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House.

Kremlin said last week that Putin’s visit was of “great importance” with the Russian president and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to discuss the “scope of Russia-India special and privileged strategic partnership in politics, trade and economy,” among other issues.

The two leaders are expected to issue a joint statement and may also sign a “wide range of bilateral interdepartmental and business agreements” it added.

Expanding trade will be the major focus of the summit, which could help India achieve a more balanced bilateral trade with Russia, said Aleksei Zakharov, visiting fellow at Indian think tank Observer Research Foundation.

In fiscal year ended March 2025, trade between India and Russia stood at $68.72 billion, heavily skewed in favor of Russia, according to data government-backed India Brand Equity Foundation. Indian exports to Russia were just $4.88 billion while imports stood at $63.84 billion, it said. The countries aim to expand bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030.

India could ramp up its shipments of machinery, chemicals, food and pharmaceutical products to Russia, while Moscow is pitching its technological solutions for civilian nuclear energy, including building small modular reactors in India, said Zakharov.

“New Delhi and Moscow are seeking to compensate for India’s reduced purchases of Russian oil by diversifying their trade relationship to other areas, including defense and civil nuclear cooperation,” said Bajpaee of Chatham House.

The two leaders are likely to discuss India’s purchase of Russia’s next-generation Su-57 fighter jets and its advanced S-500 missile defense shield, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Some experts, however, have raised doubts over Russia’s ability to honor a defense deal.

“India and Russia will talk about weapons, but Russia can barely deliver on the…