RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin is due to land in India on Thursday for high-stakes talks that will test whether the world’s most powerful non-Western alliance can withstand mounting American economic pressure.
The two-day summit between Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes as both BRICS nations face a critical choice: defy U.S. President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs or buckle under Washington’s campaign to isolate Moscow and discipline New Delhi.
The outcome will signal whether the bloc of major emerging economies can forge an independent path or remain vulnerable to American coercion.
Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50% in August, explicitly targeting New Delhi’s purchases of Russian crude oil. The punishment worked. India’s Russian oil imports are set to hit a three-year low this month, with most refiners abandoning Moscow’s discounted barrels entirely.
Now Putin arrives in the Indian capital with his defense minister and the heads of Russia’s sanctioned oil giants in tow, seeking to salvage a relationship that has anchored BRICS cooperation for decades.
“Putin’s visit offers an opportunity for Delhi to reassert the strength of its special relationship with Moscow, despite recent developments,” said Michael Kugelman of the Atlantic Council. But Indian officials are “worried that any fresh energy and defence deals with Russia could trigger a reaction” from Trump.
The dilemma is stark. Russia remains India’s dominant arms supplier, with Russian Sukhoi-30 jets comprising the majority of India’s 29 fighter squadrons. Moscow has supplied weapons to New Delhi for decades, and India still requires support for its vast inventory of Russian military systems.
“Only defence remains, which continues to bind the two together,” said Harsh Pant of India’s Observer Research Foundation.
On the table: potential new purchases of Russia’s S-400 air defence system and possibly the advanced Su-57 fighter jet. Moscow is also seeking Indian help in obtaining technical equipment for its sanctions-choked oil industry and wants to restore ONGC’s 20% stake in the Sakhalin-1 project.
The talks will determine whether BRICS unity is rhetorical or real — and whether Trump’s tariff weapon can fracture alliances that have taken decades to build.
