Two takeaways from PM Modi-Putin’s car visit: Deepening ties and India’s strategic autonomy. explainer news

Last updated:05 December, 2025, 10:56 IST

Breaking protocol to welcome Putin, PM Modi expressed confidence in a partnership that will remain resilient, and expressed confidence in India’s resolve to chart its own course amid global headwinds.

The arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Delhi on Thursday evening created one of the strongest diplomatic scenes presented by India this year. As his plane stopped at Palam airport, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was already standing at the bottom of the stairs. The two leaders shook hands and then warmly embraced each other, after which they walked towards the car that would take them to the Prime Minister’s residence.

What made this moment extraordinary was not just the gesture, but the fact that PM Modi broke established protocol by welcoming Putin personally, something he has done only for a handful of world leaders since 2014, and then went a step further by traveling with him to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in the same vehicle.

The airport reception surprised even the Russian delegation, with Moscow’s own state media later noting that the Kremlin had not been informed in advance.

For Russia, whose presidential visits are meticulously choreographed, the ease and warmth of PM Modi’s gesture has a significance of its own. For India, the decision to host Putin with this level of personal attention was carefully considered to suit both the moment and the message New Delhi wanted to send.

Why is Modi’s welcome towards Putin unique?

Although PM Modi has welcomed select leaders like Barack Obama, Shinzo Abe, Sheikh Hasina, Donald Trump, Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince Salman and Qatar’s Emir Tamim at airports in the past, Thursday’s welcome was far beyond any of those earlier examples.

This was the first time that PM Modi, as a visiting head of a state, traveled in a single vehicle from the airport to his residence. The choice of car also came to the fore. Instead of the black Range Rover Sentinel usually used for official travel, the two traveled in a white Toyota Fortuner emblazoned with the flags of both countries.

The symbolism was increased by the fact that this was not his first such ride. In September this year, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, Putin had offered PM Modi a seat in his Aurus Senate sedan, a moment that quickly went viral and prompted Putin to later describe the drive as “a symbol of our friendship”.

Thursday’s car ride, which came within a few months of the Tianjin gesture, underlined a degree of personal comfort and familiarity that is rare for the Russian president, who is otherwise known for maintaining strict formality in diplomatic interactions.

Putin’s arrival also had its own theatre. His plane, often referred to as the “Flying Kremlin”, on Thursday became the most tracked flight globally on FlightRadar24. He was accompanied by a number of senior ministers, including those responsible for defence, finance, agriculture, economic development, health, internal affairs and transport, as well as a large entourage of Russian business leaders.

Strategic context behind optics

The heat of the demonstration was not detached from geopolitics. Putin’s visit to India comes at a time when US-Russia talks on Ukraine have failed to make any breakthrough, and when the Trump administration has stepped up pressure on India to reduce purchases of Russian crude.

In this setting, PM Modi’s choice to welcome Putin at the airport and personally accompany him to 7LKM was more than formal hospitality. This was a clear assertion of India’s strategic autonomy. Delhi appears intent on signaling that its relations with Russia will not be reshaped or hampered by US priorities.

Strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney expressed this sentiment in a series of comments on X. He wrote that India’s interests “require stronger ties with both the US and Russia” and that the challenge for Indian diplomacy lies in ensuring that these relationships “reinforce rather than constrain India’s independent foreign policy”.

Chellaney also pointed to a broader trend: As Washington’s policies have pushed Moscow closer to Beijing in recent years, India’s ability to maintain a strong, balanced partnership with Russia has taken on greater importance.

China’s view: India and Russia “not isolated”

Delhi’s optics were also closely followed in Beijing. A Global Times EditorialAnalysts such as Li Haidong of China Foreign Affairs University have been quoted as describing Modi-Putin conversation As a reminder of the “strategic” and “highly flexible” nature of the India-Russia partnership. Chinese commentators argued that the visit sent a combined message: Neither India nor Russia is isolated internationally, and Western sanctions or pressure are unlikely to change the basic direction of their foreign policies.

Former Prime Minister of India advisor Sudhindra Kulkarni told Artificial satellite The timing of the visit was “strategically important amid global pressure”, a view echoed in Chinese reporting which emphasized the durability of India-Russia coordination. Li Haidong was quoted as saying that cooperation between the two countries reflects the shared intention to “further strengthen their independent and autonomous capabilities.” For Beijing, the symbolism reinforced the idea that India continues to force its way over Russia, independent of the West’s strategic priorities.

The Trump factor and the question of double standards

The meeting in Delhi also took place against the backdrop of renewed tensions in India-US relations over sanctions. Trump has pressured India to reduce imports of Russian crude, while the United States continues to import Russian enriched uranium, fertilizers and some chemicals.

Chellaney noted the paradox that while India has been threatened with secondary sanctions, other major buyers of Russian energy, including the EU, Japan and Turkey, will face no comparable penalties. He argued that such discrepancies show that Washington’s coercive measures are motivated “less by principle than by geopolitical convenience”.

From this perspective, the Modi-Putin car ride is likely to be closely watched in Washington, especially by Trump, whose own approach towards Russia has oscillated between outreach and confrontation. Chellani suggested that Trump’s reaction to the Delhi meeting could undermine his own efforts to improve relations with Moscow, even if the Alaska summit signaled a possible reassessment.

Partnership rooted in continuity

Beyond the optics and political signals, the essence of the visit is important. The 23rd India-Russia summit will focus on strengthening trade and correcting existing imbalances.

India is pushing for greater access to the Russian market for its marine products, potatoes, pomegranates, processed foods, consumer goods and pharmaceuticals. For its part, Russia remains an important supplier of fertilizers, with India importing between three to five million tonnes annually. Defence, energy and regional issues are also expected to shape the discussions, given the depth and history of cooperation in these areas.

Continuity of this partnership matters for both the countries. Unlike many other major-power relations that have experienced instability, India’s relations with Russia have been characterized by stability for decades. Chellaney presents this contrast clearly, noting that the India-Russia partnership has been marked by “stability and mutual benefit” in contrast to the “more uneven and sometimes punitive stance” of US policy towards New Delhi.

What does a car ride ultimately indicate

The lasting image of Thursday evening was not of a red carpet or a formal welcome, but of the two leaders sitting together in the back of a white SUV heading from the airport to the capital. It was a deliberate display of familiarity, stability and confidence – an assertion that India and Russia are engaged on their own terms, regardless of pressure from others.

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