Putin is scheduled to have bilateral discussions with PM Modi today after arriving in Delhi for the BRICS Summit.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, arrived in New Delhi on Friday for a three-day visit to India, where he will attend the 18th BRICS Summit and have extensive bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the goal of enhancing trade, investment, and energy relations.
When Putin arrived at Palam Air Force Station with a high-level delegation, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh welcomed him.
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, Putin will be attending a BRICS summit outside of Russia for the first time.
PM Modi Putin's meeting
At 3:30 PM on Friday, the Russian President and Prime Minister Modi are expected to have bilateral discussions. In addition to increasing bilateral trade and investment, the meeting is anticipated to concentrate on enhancing cooperation in defense, energy, technology, medicines, and people-to-people interactions.
Russia and India were also looking on improving BrahMos missiles, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday. He stated that Moscow is talking about a possible supply of Su-57 fighter jets and is still dedicated to finishing the remaining deliveries of S-400 air defense systems.
Peskov added that Moscow and New Delhi were considering talks over India's intentions to build new civil nuclear reactors and that the two nations' energy cooperation remained strong.
In the midst of fresh efforts to find a way to end the war, including by the Trump administration in the US, the crisis in Ukraine and efforts to reach a peace settlement are expected to play a major role in their meeting on Friday.
Last week, PM Modi and Putin had already met outside of the SCO conference in Bishkek. PM Modi asked Putin to go from a "endless war toward the end of war" and demanded an urgent end to the crisis in Ukraine during that meeting.
Amid worldwide crises, the BRICS summit
Strengthening collective resilience in sectors like food, energy, health, disaster reduction, and crucial supply chains is anticipated to be the main emphasis of the two-day BRICS summit, which India is hosting starting on Saturday.
BRICS is being positioned by New Delhi as a useful anchor for negotiating a geopolitical and economic landscape that is becoming more and more fractured.
The Trump administration's trade and tariff policies, the West Asian issue, especially the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Russia-Ukraine war are all putting pressure on the world economy.
Leaders attending the summit include Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.
The trip will be Xi's first to India since 2019, and it coincides with Beijing and New Delhi's cautious efforts to repair relations following a fatal military conflict along their disputed Himalayan frontier.
Although the two nations' disputed border, growing trade gap, and geopolitical rivalry continue to hamper relations, flights, visas, and high-level contacts have gradually been restored.
UKRAINE AND WEST ASIA IN FOCUS
The crisis in West Asia is likely to put the unity of the expanding BRICS group to the test. Since its founding in 2009 as a platform for significant rising economies looking to increase their influence in Western-dominated institutions, the bloc has grown to include nations like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
While attempting to strike a balance with Washington, India maintains relations with both Iran and Israel. Therefore, it is anticipated that PM Modi's talks with Putin, China's Xi, Iran's Pezeshkian, and the larger BRICS meetings will heavily touch on the West Asia situation.
In the midst of the energy crises connected to the Iranian conflict, India has also looked to Russia. As the conflict in Ukraine rages on, Russia continues to be one of India's most important strategic allies and a vital source of fuel.
Putin last visited India in December 2025, and earlier this month at the Bishkek Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, he had another brief encounter with Prime Minister Modi.
