Relations between India and China have been stuck at a low point since a border dispute erupted into violence in 2020, though the two sides have agreed to talks to resolve the disagreement
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan September 16, 2022. Sputnik/Alexander Demyanchuk/Poo
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on Monday for the first time in five years at a time when Moscow is deepening its embrace of New Delhi’s rival, China.
Modi is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the visit, which will stretch into Tuesday. India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters in New Delhi that given the lack of recent summits, several issues on the bilateral agenda “have piled up, which need to be addressed.” Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp
Senior Indian diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that while major announcements are unlikely, Modi’s visit is intended to send a signal that the two sides remain close. Russia’s ties to India stretch back to the Cold War, and the country is India’s biggest supplier of weapons and oil. That relationship has remained “resilient,” Kwatra said.
However, India is watching carefully as Russia draws closer to China, which has served as an economic and diplomatic lifeline amid sanctions over the Kremlin’s grueling war on Ukraine. During a security summit in Kazakhstan last week, Putin described relations with China as the “best in history.
