Modi, Putin agree to strengthen India-Russia partnership on eve of BRICS summit

India said Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to further strengthen the special relationship between their countries, discussing a... India said on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to further strengthen the special relationship between their countries in talks that ranged over areas including energy and defence. New Delhi is engaged in a diplomatic balancing act as it tries to maintain strong ties with the US, Gulf Arab states, Russia, Iran and Israel, while suffering the impact of shipping and trade disruptions due to the Ukraine and Iran wars.

The meeting was the second in two weeks between the two leaders. It was held on the eve of the annual summit of BRICS leaders in the Indian capital, which Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, among others, are due to attend. The bloc is seeking to raise its profile even as its members are split over the Iran war.

Modi and Putin "shared perspectives on ... the conflicts in West Asia and the Black Sea region which have impacted maritime trade and the safety and security of Indian seafarers", a statement from India's foreign ministry said. Modi reiterated that conflicts should be resolved by dialogue and diplomacy and that India stood ready to assist in peace efforts, it added.

"The two leaders agreed to remain engaged in an effort to strengthen further the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two countries," the foreign ministry statement said. Resilient energy ties India, along with China, is one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil, which is seen as helping Moscow replenish its budget since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and was hit with sweeping Western sanctions. India has sought to resist the pressure to scale back the trade, saying its large population and economy need secure, affordable and reliable energy supplies.

New Delhi has also said that the Ukraine conflict can be resolved only through dialogue and diplomacy and not by some countries stopping energy, metal or fertiliser trade with Russia. That share likely moderated in August as China stepped up Russian oil purchases, Indian media reported. On Friday, Modi said he presented Putin with a Russian …