Putin to visit India on December 4-5 for India-Russia Summit 2025

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be on a State visit to India from December 4-5 for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Friday (November 28).

“At the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, President of the Russian Federation H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin will pay a State visit to India from 04 - 05 December 2025 for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit,” stated the MEA.

“During the visit, President Putin will hold talks with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Hon'ble Rashtrapatiji will also receive President Putin and host a banquet in his honour,” it added.

Focus on bilateral ties

According to the MEA, the visit will focus on India-Russia bilateral ties as well as on boosting the strategic partnership between the two countries.

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“The forthcoming State Visit will provide an opportunity for the leadership of India and Russia to review progress in bilateral relations, set the vision for strengthening the ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest,” the MEA said.

Putin’s first India visit

The upcoming visit will be Putin’s first to India since 2021. He met PM Modi on September 1 this year in Tianjin, China, on the sidelines of the SCO Summit.

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"The visit is of great importance, providing an opportunity to comprehensively discuss the extensive agenda of Russian-Indian relations within the particularly privileged strategic partnership in the political, trade, economic, scientific, technological, cultural, and humanitarian spheres, as well as to consider topical international and regional issues,” Russian state news agency TASS quoted a Kremlin statement.

Trump and tariffs

The visit comes at a time when the ties between the two countries, especially India’s oil trade with Russia, have drawn the ire of US President Donald Trump, who has alleged that Russia uses the revenue from its oil trade with India to fund its war with Ukraine.

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Trump has imposed a cumulative tariff of 50 per cent on India, out of which 25 per cent are reciprocal tariffs aimed at addressing trade imbalance and 25 per cent are retaliatory tariffs for India’s purchase of Russian oil.

Despite multiple rounds of talks between Indian and US representatives, both countries are yet to strike a bilateral trade deal, with the US seeking access to the sensitive sectors like dairy and agriculture, which India is not keen on providing.