Modi-Putin Meet at SCO as India Recalibrates Russia Ties — SkimNews
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- Modi and Putin are set to meet in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Monday on the sidelines of the SCO summit, with energy trade, defense cooperation, and assessments of the Ukraine and Iran conflicts on the agenda.
- Russia's oil went from a small share of India's crude imports before 2022 to becoming one of India's biggest suppliers — a shift the US has pressed New Delhi to reverse.
- India's defense reliance on Russia is declining, with New Delhi "increasingly reluctant to commit to Russia's fifth-generation fighter program" and seeking systems that fit indigenous production plans, per JNU's Aravind Yelery.
- Russia's dependence on China since 2022 has eroded Moscow's ability to serve as a counterweight to Beijing, per strategic affairs expert C Raja Mohan.
- India is pursuing an "America plus" strategy — expanding defense and tech ties with the US, France and Israel while maintaining engagement with Moscow.
- Putin wants Modi's assurance that India won't "ditch Russia" amid what JNU's Rajan Kumar called "the worst possible crisis after the 1990s."
- The relationship's next major test will be Putin's expected return to Delhi in September for the BRICS summit.
Why it matters: India is moving from buying finished Russian weapons to demanding co-production for indigenous integration, directly threatening Russia's shrinking arms revenue. With New Delhi also deepening defense and tech ties with Washington, Moscow's last major arms client is becoming the least likely to underwrite its pivot to China.
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