President Putin’s summit meeting with Prime Minister Modi would have been viewed by many as an unqualified success. However, observers did not fail to notice that both leaders did not elaborate on the issue of Russian oil exports to India. Nor did they elaborate on Russian defence sales, despite the Russian Duma ratifying the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Support (RELOS) agreement a day before the Russian president touched down in New Delhi.

This lack of mention has led some to wonder if concerns regarding the US were a common factor for both New Delhi and Moscow. India is in the middle of talks of a free trade deal with the US, and Russia is also in the middle of talks with the Americans on the Ukraine issue.

Russia expert Gulshan Sachdeva, professor at the School of International Studies, JNU, and chief coordinator of the Global South Centre of Excellence at RIS, New Delhi, says that oil purchases by India from Russia has actually given a “new momentum” to India-Russia ties. “Except for the mobility issue, which is the new one this time, everything else has been talked about for the last 25 years.”

Asked about the reasons why both the Indian and Russian sides largely avoided any mention of oil, Professor Sachdeva said that New Delhi rather than Moscow may have been hesitant in doing so. “Russia doesn't care about these things, and that’s........

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