Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host a private dinner in honor of Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (December 4, 2025). Putin’s visit is taking place at a time when relations between India and America are tense. The purpose of his visit is to expand the overall bilateral strategic and economic partnership.
The summit between PM Modi and Putin on Friday is likely to focus on increasing defense cooperation, keeping bilateral trade safe from external pressures and possible cooperation in the field of small ‘modular reactors’. It is believed that western countries will keep a close eye on this talk.
After the 23rd summit between India and Russia, both sides can make agreements in many areas including trade. Since the Russian leader is visiting India amid a renewed US effort to end the war in Ukraine, this issue is also likely to be discussed in the summit.
A few hours after Putin’s arrival here, Prime Minister Modi will host a private dinner for him. In July last year, Putin had given similar hospitality to Modi when he visited Russia. Putin will be formally welcomed on Friday, after which the 23rd India-Russia summit will be held. Prime Minister Modi will also host a lunch for Putin and his delegation at Hyderabad House.
Officials said that Putin will also visit Rajghat in the morning. After the summit, Putin will launch the India channel of Russia’s state broadcaster, after which President Draupadi Murmu will host a state banquet in his honour. After a journey of about 28 hours, Putin will depart from India at around 9.30 pm on Friday night.
The issue of increase in India’s trade deficit due to purchase of large quantities of Russian crude oil is likely to be raised in the summit talks. This visit is taking place at a time when America has imposed a heavy duty of 50 percent on Indian goods, due to which India-US relations are probably going through their worst phase in the last two decades. This fee also includes 25 percent duty imposed on purchase of Russian crude oil.
The impact of US sanctions on India’s purchase of crude oil from Russia is also likely to be discussed in the summit meeting. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that India’s purchases of crude oil from Russia may decline “for some time” in view of Western sanctions, but he also said that Moscow is taking steps to increase supplies.
At the summit, Putin is also likely to apprise Prime Minister Modi about America’s efforts to end the Ukraine conflict. India has consistently said that the way to end the war lies only through dialogue and diplomacy.
After the talks between Modi and Putin, many agreements are likely to be signed between the two countries. These include an agreement to facilitate the movement of Indian workers to Russia and another agreement on logistical cooperation under the broader framework of defense cooperation. It is being said that there is expected to be a significant increase in Indian exports to Russia in the sectors of pharma, agriculture, food products and consumer goods.