India Expects Regular Defence Supply Supplies From Russia

India expects regular defence supplies from Russia during the winters, amid India's lukewarm relations with China and Russia’s war with Ukraine. This may be a key component of foreign minister S Jaishankar's two-day visit to Moscow.

Apart from ensuring regular supplies of energy, fertiliser and other commodities such as coking coal and coal, as well as smooth trade in national currencies, Jaishankar's visit is taking place against the backdrop of India's deteriorating relations with China and the need for regular defence supplies from Russia for the Indian military during the upcoming winter months. 

It may be recalled that, despite Chinese reservations, Russia maintained supplies for the Indian military during the Galwan crisis.

The visit would also lay the groundwork for a possible summit meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, either on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Bali next week or at an annual summit in Russia in December.

Since the Russia-Ukraine war, Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov have met four times. Lavrov had visited India in early April to meet with Jaishankar. Russia has emerged as a major supplier of oil and fertiliser, coal, coal, coal, and other commodities.

As refiners increased their purchases of discounted oil, Russia overtook the United States as India's largest crude oil supplier in October 2022. India has defended its purchases of Russian oil to keep prices low for its large aspirational population.

Overall, bilateral trade between India and Russia has increased several times this year, according to some estimates by 310 per cent. The INSTC via Iran connectivity route has aided India-Russia bilateral trade.

In recent months, Jaishankar has frequently referred to long-standing ties with Russia, including in the critical sector of defence.

In September, following his meeting with Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Jaishankar described Russia as a “major partner in many domains” for India, noting that discussions with Lavrov focused on “bilateral cooperation,” among other issues such as Ukraine and the G-20. 

Putin has heaped praise on Modi twice ahead of Jaishankar's visit, first describing him as a leader pursuing independent foreign policy and then describing Indians as talented.