ladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi comes at a crucial moment when India being pressurized by the US to stop purchasing Russian oil that has spiked from 0.2 percent to 40 percent today. The US Trade Advisor Peter Navarro gone even so far to refer Russo-Ukrainian conflict as “Modi’s war” and said that the “road to peace runs, in part, through New Delhi.”
The US repeatedly communicating to India to stop purchasing Russian oil. Unable to halt the trade, Trump employed coercive economic diplomacy coupled with imposition of 50 percent tariff on India and levied direct sanctions on Russia’s largest oil companies. The US policy unable to yield favorable outcome for the Washington, where India’s strategic inflexibility make it chose Moscow as an alternative market faltering economic ties with the US. Putin’s visit paves way to unlock the potential of bilateral trade where they presented a plan for economic cooperation through 2030 aiming to reach the target 100 billion dollar trade.
Putin’s visit is more symbolic than substantive in certain aspects, as they did not sign any significant defence agreements. Deals on shipbuilding, vital minerals, and civilian nuclear energy were made, but they are meagre in comparison to the current oil trade. Oil a major factor in record trade levels. The US imposed sanctions against Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil from whom India import 60% of Russian crude oil.
These sanctions would not hinder the oil trade between the Moscow and New Delhi as Putin in his visit assured to provide Indian economy with “uninterrupted” fuel. Bloomberg reported that Russia is offering Indian refiners crude oil of up to 7 dollar per barrel to dated Brent after US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil. Reuters also highlighted that Indian refiners are looking for to purchase crude oil from non-sanctioned Russian sellers at these lowest prices. New Delhi is also considering more market access in Russia, especially in medicines, machinery, and agricultural products, because bilateral trade is significantly lopsided in favor of Russia. Deals on shipbuilding, vital minerals, and civilian nuclear energy were secured. India still wants Russia to accelerate supply of vital military equipment, such as two S-400 missile defence system from a 2018 agreement that have been delayed because of the conflict in Ukraine. The recent sanctions imposed by the US on Russian biggest oil companies and the 50 percent tariff on India aimed to deter trade between the two. Contrary to this, Putin visit to New Delhi indicates that the US cannot compel India to follow its preferred policies.
The US bet on India repeatedly questioned not just by Putin’s recent visit to India but also by Modi’s choice to go to the Shanghai Cooperation Summit in Tianjin in September, where he shook hands and exchanged grins with Putin and Xi Jinping. Decades of American policy, that viewed New Delhi as essential to curtail Beijing’s ascent in the Indo-Pacific now in need of redesign. It is obvious that the Trump Administration has taken a myopic view of New Delhi. A discussion about how New Delhi has become closer to Washington over the past 20 years has been sparked by the way Trump and a number of senior aides have publicly denigrated India in recent months, which has become a political liability for Modi at home. Putin’s visit should serve as a reminder that Russia is significant player in geopolitical reality. Despite imposing sanctions on Russia, Trump is unable to daunt its trade relations with the state whom it termed as strategic ally. It also questioned the US investment in India as a strategic partner.
