By CNBCTV18.com December 5, 2025, 1:30:27 PM IST (Published)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, December 5, said India is a neutral country that stands for peace as Russia’s attacks on Ukraine near four years.
In a televised interaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin in New Delhi, Modi said Putin has kept him updated on the situation in Ukraine from time to time and urged that the conflict be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. Putin is in India on a two-day state visit to mark 25 years of partnership between the two countries.
Modi praised Putin’s leadership over the past 25 years for strengthening ties with India and said he hopes the meeting will further boost economic cooperation. The two leaders are expected to sign 15 commercial deals and 10 inter-governmental agreements, underscoring growing trade and diplomatic engagement even as India has not finalised a trade deal with the US.
Bilateral ties have warmed in recent years, driven largely by India’s increased imports of Russian oil and defence equipment after Russia faced Western sanctions following its February 2022 attacks on Ukraine — a shift that has drawn criticism from the US, including a punitive 50% tariff on some Indian exports to the United States.
Bilateral trade reached a record high of over $68 billion in FY2024-25, with a target of $100 billion by 2030. Putin’s visit — his first to India in four years since the start of the war — is expected to further boost trade, although US President Donald Trump has claimed India will reduce purchases of Russian oil. The visit is also anticipated to deepen cooperation in technology, defence and security, among other areas.
