BRICS Summit 2026: Putin’s India visit puts trade, defence and Ukraine peace efforts in focus

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in India on Friday for a three-day visit that will see him meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attend the BRICS summit, with bilateral trade, investment, energy and defence ties expected to dominate the agenda.

Putin, who is travelling with a high-level delegation, is scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with Modi on Friday afternoon. The meeting is expected to cover cooperation in defence, energy, technology, pharmaceuticals and people-to-people exchanges, while the Russia-Ukraine war and efforts to find a path to peace are also likely to figure prominently.

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The visit marks Putin’s first in-person participation at a BRICS summit outside Russia since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.

Putin was received at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs K V Singh. Welcoming the Russian leader, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India and Russia share multifaceted and longstanding ties anchored in a special and privileged strategic partnership.

Defence, energy and nuclear cooperation on agenda

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Moscow and New Delhi are exploring upgrades to BrahMos missiles, while Russia remains committed to completing the remaining deliveries of the S-400 air defence systems. The two sides are also discussing a possible supply of Su-57 fighter jets, he said.

Energy ties are also expected to receive attention, with Peskov saying cooperation in the sector remains robust. Moscow and New Delhi are also looking at negotiations over India's plans to establish new civil nuclear reactors, he said.

The talks come days after Modi and Putin met on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek, where the prime minister called for an immediate end to the conflict and urged the Russian president to shift from an "endless war towards the end of war".

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Renewed diplomatic efforts, including those led by the Trump administration, have intensified in recent days in search of a possible resolution to the Ukraine conflict.

BRICS summit opens against geopolitical strains

Putin’s visit comes as New Delhi prepares to host the two-day BRICS summit beginning Saturday. India is positioning the grouping as an important anchor for navigating an increasingly fragmented geopolitical and economic environment.

The summit is expected to focus on strengthening collective resilience in areas including food and energy security, healthcare, disaster reduction and critical supply chains.

The discussions will take place against a difficult global backdrop, with the Russia-Ukraine war, the West Asia crisis and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz weighing on the world economy. The Trump administration's trade and tariff policies are another major source of uncertainty.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung are among the leaders attending the summit.

For India, Putin’s visit offers an opportunity to reinforce a long-standing strategic partnership while pushing forward economic, energy and defence cooperation. For Russia, the talks with Modi come at a time when Moscow continues to face the geopolitical and economic consequences of the Ukraine war.