Symbolism Of Putin's India Visit

The visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India from 4 to 5 December appears to be laced with symbolism rather than substance. Prior to the visit, the global media made it look as if this visit was orchestrated by India to signal to the US and its Western allies that weaponising trade as a tool of diplomacy would not be acceptable. This media perspective conformed with India's long-held commitment to 'strategic autonomy' in matters of safeguarding the country's sovereignty and the vital interests of its people. For Russia, this visit served the purpose of signaling to the Western powers that it could afford to defy both the Western sanctions and the international arrest warrant issued by the International Court of Justice. 

Achievements of the visit do not appear to be impressive and concrete in view of what has come out in the press and the social media sources. However, the pageantry and protocol that accompanied his welcome by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed the depth of goodwill and camaraderie that existed between the leaders of the two emerging powers. 

Multi-polar world order 

Russia and India have maintained close and cordial relations from the time of India's independence in 1947. Russia and India were strategic partners during the Cold War. The two countries had signed a Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation in August 1971 with a strong commitment to defense and security cooperation with each other. Now their shared commitment to a multi-polar world order has again brought them closer together. They are playing a leading role in giving shape to a multi-polar world order through institutions like BRICS, G20 and SCO. Both of them are facing sanctions from the Western powers and advocate a world order free from unipolar domination of the USA. 

The Western powers accuse India of aligning with Russia but India has refuted the allegation, saying that its relationship with Russia is guided by India's national interest. The Indian Foreign Minister has repeatedly expressed his disagreement with European countries, which want India to stand with the EU in its opposition to Russia. He is recorded to have said that "Europe's problems are not India's problems". India has offered to mediate the Russian–Ukrainian war but has refused to take sides. In the Munich Security Conference held in February 2024, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar was reported to have opposed coercive Western policy, saying, "Good partners provide choices, smart partners take only some of those choices." This was a clear statement that India was not obliged to accept suggestions that did not serve its national interest. 

It is undeniable that India has close and cordial relations with Russia. But it has exercised autonomy and balance with Russia also. Despite the domineering attitude of the Western powers, it has advocated diversification against dependence on one power. Despite being sanctioned by the USA with 50 percent tariffs on its commodities exported to the USA, India has been buying American crude oil at a much higher price than Russian oil. 

Ostensibly, Putin's visit to India was to participate in the 23rd regular annual summit meeting between top leaders of the two countries. But the circumstance in which he visited has made it more symbolic than consequential. Despite the absence of any concrete transactions between the two countries, the visit was able to carry a symbolism bigger than the substance reflected by the agreements signed during his visit. The most important achievement of this visit appears to be the agreement that visualizes an incremental economic cooperation with a goal of making bilateral trade reach USD 100 billion in 2030 from the present level hovering around USD 68.7 billion.

 At the same time, this agreement has also opened a possibility of widening the basket of export commodities, a significant step away from the present-day energy and defense-dominated trade transaction.  Another important hope this visit may have instilled in the minds of the Indians is the possibility of Russian support in building connectivity and a maritime corridor that could change the very architecture of transportation and connectivity by reducing transit time between India and Russia via both surface road and maritime shipping corridors.

Expectedly, the much-talked-about agreement on Russia providing the S-400 air defense system to India did not take place, nor was any progress made on the joint production in India of the sophisticated S-500 air defense system and state-of-the-art Su-57 fighter jets in India did not materialise. In such a desperate situation of war with NATO-backed Ukraine, doling out sophisticated war equipment to strategic partners would be an unthinkable proposition in itself. Despite all these limitations, it must, however, be admitted that this visit lifted the historical relation subsisting between the two countries to an altogether new level. It has also loudly announced that Putin can break free from the diplomatic isolation imposed by the Western World as and when he wishes.

By organising this visit in defiance of an international arrest warrant and the consequential risks, both Putin and Modi have reasserted their commitment to the "special and privileged strategic partnership" existing between the two great nations. The irony of the situation, however, is that Russia's close relationship with China has remained a pain in the neck for both countries because of the tense border relations between India with China. The long-term partnership of India with Russia will, therefore, depend more on Russia's ability to help resolve border tension between India and China than any other things.

(Dr. Bharadwaj is a former ambassador and former chairperson of Gorkhapatra Corporation. bharadwajnarad@gmail.com.)