Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar commenced a three-day visit to Moscow to further strengthen the India-Russia partnership. This visit occurs amidst the backdrop of the U.S. imposing tariffs on Indian exports, including a 25% penalty related to the purchase of crude oil from Russia. The Ministry of External Affairs announced that Jaishankar would co-chair the 26th session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological, and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) on Wednesday. He is scheduled to co-chair the IRIGC-TEC with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. This session is expected to lay the groundwork for President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India later this year.
Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, are also likely to discuss the latest initiatives of the Trump administration regarding peace in Ukraine. The Ministry of External Affairs stated that during the visit, the Foreign Minister will review the bilateral agenda and share views with the Russian Foreign Minister on regional and global issues. The visit aims to reinforce the long-standing and time-tested special strategic partnership between India and Russia.
It is anticipated that during Jaishankar’s visit to Moscow, both sides will deliberate on India-Russia energy relations. The U.S. has imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods as a penalty for New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil. Defending the crude oil purchases from Russia, India has maintained that its energy procurement is based on national interests and market equations.
Following the Western sanctions and supply cuts imposed on Moscow after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, India began purchasing Russian oil at discounted rates. Russia’s share in total oil imports rose from just 1.7% in 2019-20 to 35.1% in 2024-25, making it India’s largest oil supplier.
Last July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Moscow and told Putin that a resolution to the Ukraine conflict was not possible on the battlefield and that peace efforts would not succeed amidst bombs and bullets. The following month, Modi visited Kyiv, Ukraine, and told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the war.
