wl-4389-Beyond the ‘Routine’: Indian Prime Minister’s Russia Visit in Perspective

The significance of prime minister Modi’s 2 day high profile visit to Russia (8-9 July 2024) lies in the fact that this trip marked his first bilateral visit after his swearing in for the third consecutive term. Though officially labeled as a bilateral visit, the ‘22nd India-Russia Annual Summit’ was remarkable on several counts. That this visit took place at a critical juncture in global geopolitics was not lost out. While on the one hand, Russia’s war in Ukraine is well into its third year, another devastating war rages on in Gaza with no sight of a resolution. Two clear messages emerged from the prime minister’s visit — first, Russia continues to remain India’s valuable partner and that India does not support Russia’s isolation and the western objective of a Russia’s ‘strategic defeat’ in the ongoing war in Ukraine. One of the most perceptible outcome of the prime minister’s visit was the reassurance to both sides that the relationship was on track. It is noteworthy that among the 35 strategic partnerships that India has inked with countries around the world, its partnership with Russia is unique in the sense that it has withstood the test of time and has proved to be the only “constant” in an otherwise turbulent world.