Russian president Vladimir Putin visit to India in December, the Kremlin said Friday, reported AFP. The two countries are seeing their ties getting stronger after the United States imposed tariffs on New Delhi over its purchases of Russian oil.
Putin will meet with PM Narendra Modi at the SCO summit in China on Monday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, stated AFP, saying the pair would discuss “preparation for the December visit.”
Kremlin also said that Putin will attend China’s world war two victory parade in Beijing on September 3 in capacity of ‘main guest’. He will also hold bilateral talks in China with PM Modi, Turkey’s Erdogan, Iran’s Pezeshkian, Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, among others.
Kremlin also added that it was working on a possible meeting in China between Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
PM Modi is set to hold bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Putin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit on August 31-September 1.
India-Russia ties and US tariffs
India and Russia have been a long term partners through tough times supporting each other. US President Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on India to force Russia to come to the table to discuss the Ukraine war, Trump’s administration said. The US president and several of his aides have targeted New Delhi fir purchasing oil from Russia, stating that the money is funding nothing but Moscow’s aggression towards Kyiv.
Recently, Trump‘s trade advisor Peter Navarro said the conflict in Ukraine is “Modi’s war” as purchasing oil from Russia kept funding Putin’s agenda in the war.
“India – you’re getting in bed with authoritarians. China invaded Aksai Chin and all your territory. They are not your friends. And Russia? Come on!” he said recently in an interview.
When asked if the US was losing leverage with China by paying too much attention to India, White House advisor Peter Navarro pushed back strongly. He said the real problem was Russian oil and stressed that if India, China, and Europe stopped buying it, Russia would quickly lose the money that they need to “fund their war” in Ukraine.
India exposes US’ hypocrisy
India, however, had categorically said that buying Russian crude was purely from the requirement point of view, something the country would continue to do. As for the funding war, New Delhi mentioned how the US continues to trade in matters like nuclear weapon to Russia and similar trade in other areas is being done by the European Union as well.
India, reacting to tariffs and sanctions, said that it would continue to take steps that it deems fit for the country’s economic security, including purchase of the Russian oil.