Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, on December 5, 2025. Photo: VCG

Russia and India on Friday unveiled a five-year plan to bolster economic and trade partnership in the face of Washington's punitive tariff and sanctions regime, following talks between President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI).

Putin is on a two-day visit to India. After the 23rd India-Russia summit talks, the two leaders addressed a joint press conference in New Delhi. Modi said that he discussed all areas of cooperation to further strengthen India-Russia ties and agreed on an India-Russia economic cooperation programme till 2030, according to The Hindu.

In addition to the 2030 economic programme, the two sides also signed multiple agreements to expand cooperation in a number of sectors including health, mobility and people-to-people exchange. The Ukraine conflict was also included in the talks with Modi saying that India has advocated for peace in that country, the PTI reported on Friday.

Modi, referring to the economic roadmap, said taking the India-Russia economic partnership to new heights is now a common priority for both sides, while Putin said that the two sides resolved to prioritize cooperation in areas of security, economy, trade and culture, according to the PTI. 

Putin's visit garnered wide attention from international media. Reuters reported that "Putin is on his first visit to India in four years at a time when New Delhi is engaged in talks with the US for a trade deal to cut punitive tariffs imposed by the US on its goods over India's Russian oil purchases." 

CNBC reported that "While this visit was planned before US-India ties soured, it signifies that New Delhi is not beholden to the whims of the Trump administration and that it maintains an independent foreign policy."

Amid the current turbulent geopolitical landscape, engagement between India and Russia conveys a clear message to the international community: neither country is isolated, and both demonstrate strong resilience in the face of external pressure or interference, Zhang Hong, a research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

For India, strengthening energy cooperation with Russia and advancing military-industrial collaboration are strategic measures aimed at addressing vulnerabilities in its industrial chain, and these efforts also serve as leverage to counter restrictive measures imposed by the US, Zhang said.

Also gaining considerable media attention is Putin's interview with India Today at the Kremlin published on Thursday, during which Putin said that China and India are Russia's close friends and that Moscow places great value on its relations with both countries.

"India and China are our closest friends - we treasure that relationship deeply," the Russian president said in the interview with India Today when asked how Russia maintains good relations with both countries, according to a report from TASS on Thursday.

Meanwhile, there were some voices in foreign media that are trying to sow discord. An analysis published by the Guardian on Thursday claimed that the increasingly close, "no-limits partnership" between Moscow and Beijing has rattled India, and leaving it hoping to find a way to "prevent Russia from ever getting too close to China and ensure it can count on Moscow to put some pressure on the Chinese."

However, such deliberate voices won't change positive interactions among the three countries. The positive interactions between the two sides also represent normal exchanges among member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and BRICS, contributing to the advancement of global multipolarity, Zhang said. 

Both Putin and Modi were in North China's Tianjin Municipality in September for the SCO Summit.  Among other outcomes of the summit, the SCO member states issued their first-ever statement supporting the multilateral trading system, according to Xinhua. 

Notably, while in New Delhi on Friday, the Russian president also said that Russia, India and other like-minded nations are working toward a just and multipolar world, per the PTI report.