Tianjin, China, September 2, 2025 \u2013 In a significant diplomatic engagement, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, on September 1, 2025. The meeting, marked by warm exchanges and a shared ride in Putin\u2019s armoured Aurus limousine, underscored the enduring strength of the India-Russia strategic partnership amidst mounting global pressures, particularly from the United States over India\u2019s continued purchase of Russian oil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The leaders\u2019 interaction began with a notably cordial moment as they greeted each other with smiles and hugs before the SCO plenary session. A viral video shared by Russia\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs captured Modi, Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping engaging in a relaxed conversation, highlighting a rare display of camaraderie among the leaders of three major powers. Putin described the meeting as a \u201csignificant boost\u201d to India-Russia relations, expressing his happiness and referring to Modi as a \u201cdear friend.\u201d He emphasized the decades-long \u201cfriendly and trusting\u201d relationship between the two nations, noting that their special and privileged strategic partnership, established nearly 15 years ago, continues to thrive. \u201cTrade and economic ties are showing positive dynamics,\u201d Putin said, addressing Modi in Russian during their formal talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Modi echoed Putin\u2019s sentiments, reaffirming India\u2019s commitment to the bilateral relationship. \u201cIndia and Russia have always stood shoulder to shoulder even in the most difficult situations,\u201d he said in Hindi at the start of the bilateral meeting. \u201cOur close cooperation is important not only for the people of both our countries but also for global peace, stability, and prosperity.\u201d Modi highlighted the depth of their partnership, noting regular high-level engagements and expressing enthusiasm for hosting Putin in New Delhi for the 23rd India-Russia Summit in December 2025. \u201cAt this time, 1.4 billion Indians are eagerly waiting to welcome you,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nearly hour-long formal meeting, preceded by a 45-minute informal discussion during their limousine ride from the summit venue to the hotel, covered a wide range of topics, including trade, energy, security, space, and cultural cooperation. A readout from India\u2019s Ministry of External Affairs stated that the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening their strategic partnership. Modi posted on X, describing the meeting as \u201cexcellent\u201d and detailing discussions on deepening cooperation in sectors such as trade, fertilizers, and regional stability. \u201cOur special and privileged strategic partnership remains a vital pillar of regional and global stability,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting took place against the backdrop of escalating US-India tensions, driven by the Trump administration\u2019s imposition of 50% tariffs on Indian exports, including a 25% punitive levy targeting India\u2019s purchase of Russian crude oil. The US has criticized India\u2019s energy imports, which now constitute 35-40% of its crude supply, as indirectly funding Russia\u2019s war efforts in Ukraine. Despite this pressure, India has doubled down on its energy and defense ties with Russia. Modi\u2019s office confirmed that the leaders discussed the Ukraine conflict, with Modi reiterating India\u2019s support for a peaceful resolution, a stance he also conveyed in a recent call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The SCO Summit, hosted by China from August 31 to September 1, provided a platform for Modi and Putin to project unity alongside Xi Jinping. The summit, attended by leaders from over 20 countries, focused on regional security, trade, and counter-terrorism. In his plenary address, Modi called for decisive action against terrorism, referencing the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians. The SCO\u2019s Tianjin Declaration, signed by all members, condemned the attack and reaffirmed the bloc\u2019s commitment to combating terrorism, separatism, and extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Modi-Putin meeting also highlighted economic cooperation, with Russia\u2019s Direct Investment Fund CEO announcing new investment projects with India and China. India\u2019s continued purchase of discounted Russian oil and its refusal to scale back defense ties, including procurements like the S-400 missile system, signal New Delhi\u2019s determination to maintain strategic autonomy despite Western criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Analysts view the warm Modi-Putin interaction as a deliberate signal to the US that India will not bow to tariff pressures or abandon its long-standing partnership with Russia. The leaders\u2019 display of solidarity, alongside their engagement with Xi, underscores the growing influence of the SCO and BRICS as platforms for the Global South to counter Western dominance. However, the summit\u2019s failure to address the Ukraine conflict in its joint statement drew criticism from Kyiv, which called the omission \u201ctelling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Modi concluded his four-day visit to Japan and China, he described the SCO Summit as \u201cproductive,\u201d emphasizing India\u2019s firm stance on global issues. The Modi-Putin meeting, combined with Modi\u2019s talks with Xi to ease India-China border tensions, reflects India\u2019s delicate balancing act in a multipolar world. With Putin\u2019s upcoming visit to India in December, the India-Russia partnership is poised to deepen further, reinforcing a relationship that has weathered global upheavals for decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Disclaimer: This story is compiled from reports by multiple news outlets and reflects developments as of September 2, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tianjin, China, September 2, 2025 \u2013 In a significant diplomatic engagement, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, on September 1, 2025. The meeting, marked by warm exchanges and a shared ride in Putin\u2019s armoured…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-global-nri-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16165"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16167,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16165\/revisions\/16167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nriglobe.com\/wp68\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}