San Francisco Frontiers - India's Modi and Russia's Putin talk defence, trade and Ukraine

Putin was given a red carpet welcome with honour guard and 21-gun salute at the presidential palace in New Delhi, before a formal summit meeting with Modi began.

Big ticket defence sales and co-production ventures, energy purchases, and wider economic engagement are on the agenda, Putin's first visit to India since the Ukraine war.

Putin, sitting beside 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.

Both leaders will discuss the geopolitical situation in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and global trade disruptions triggered by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Modi welcomed Putin at the airport on Thursday with a warm hug, 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.

"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.

It was a symbolic show of friendship, after US President Donald Trump imposed 50-percent tariffs on most Indian products in August, citing Delhi's continued purchases of Russian oil -- revenue Washington argues helps fund the war in Ukraine.

Putin on Friday said he had shared with Modi "a great deal of details about the events taking place in Ukraine" and the efforts Moscow is taking "together with some partners, including the United States, on a possible peaceful settlement", according to an official translator.

"Thank you for the attention and for your efforts in finding a solution to this situation," Putin told Modi, who replied that India was "on the side of peace".

- 'Balancing acts' -

India is walking a diplomatic tightrope -- relying on strategic Russian oil imports while trying not to provoke Trump during ongoing tariff negotiations.

"Balancing acts are second nature to Indian foreign policy making," Pankaj Saran, a former Indian envoy to Russia, wrote in the Times of India on Friday.

"This visit is part of India's diversification strategy, both in terms of strategic and economic, especially at a time when the US tariffs have hurt India," Ashok Malik of business consultancy The Asia Group told AFP.

The leaders will also address business and industry leaders before Putin attends a state banquet hosted by Indian President Droupadi Murmu.

India, the world's most populous nation, has become a major buyer of Russian oil, saving itself billions of dollars and providing Moscow with a much-needed export market after it was cut off from traditional buyers in Europe because of the war.

Putin also told India Today that Modi is "not someone who gives in to pressure", when asked about the impact of US tariffs.

The Russian share of India's arms imports fell from 76 percent in 2009-13 to 36 percent in 2019-23, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Besides discussions around cutting-edge defence hardware, which includes air defence systems, fighter jets, and nuclear submarines, New Delhi will push for easier access to the wider Russian market.

Bilateral trade reached $68.7 billion in 2024-25 -- almost six times higher than the pre-pandemic levels -- but Indian exports accounted for only $4.88 billion.

G.Miller--SFF