As India gears up to host Russian President Vladimir Putin for the upcoming annual summit between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met the leader in Moscow. Currently on his Russia trip, the EAM met Putin at the Kremlin on Tuesday (November 18, 2025), in a significant diplomatic moment.
With this high-level meeting, EAM Jaishankar set the stage for the upcoming annual summit between PM Modi and Putin. The meeting underscored not only the continued relevance of the decades-old strategic partnership but also the urgency of coordination amid rapidly shifting global alignments.
Putin personally welcomed Jaishankar at the Representative Office of the Senate Palace, a gesture that reinforced Moscow’s emphasis on maintaining high-level political engagement with New Delhi. Jaishankar conveyed Prime Minister Modi’s greetings and briefed the Russian leader on preparations underway for the next India–Russia Summit scheduled around December 5.
Jaishankar-Putin meeting: What did the leaders discuss?
EAM Jaishankar noted afterward that he “deeply valued” President Putin’s perspectives on advancing the relationship, especially at a time when both nations are recalibrating their strategic priorities. The discussions covered major regional and global developments. The External Affairs Minister apprised him of preparations underway for the upcoming Annual India Russia Summit.
In addition, Jaishankar and Putin also discussed regional and global developments.
Senior Russian officials including Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Maxim Oreshkin, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko were part of the meeting, signaling that economic, connectivity and strategic issues were central to the conversation.
When will Putin visit India?
Russian President Putin is expected to visit India early next month, making this meeting a key preparatory step for the 23rd Annual India–Russia Summit. Despite global turbulence, from the Ukraine conflict to US sanctions on Russian oil buyers, both sides appear committed to preserving the robustness of their long-standing partnership.
US President Donald Trump has often called out India for buying oil from Moscow and playing a part in supporting the war in Ukraine. India has, however, asserted its position that the decision is based on its economic interests.
How does this fit into larger diplomatic engagements at the SCO?
Jaishankar’s Kremlin call followed his extensive discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, where both sides reviewed progress on defence supplies, nuclear cooperation, energy links and connectivity projects like the North-South Transport Corridor.
Earlier, Jaishankar also joined other SCO heads of delegation in a collective meeting with Putin. That forum included leaders from Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Pakistan and Mongolia. On the sidelines, Jaishankar held bilateral interactions with Mongolia’s Prime Minister and Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, further demonstrating India’s active diplomacy in Eurasia and the Gulf.
The External Affairs Minister also thanked Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin for hosting the SCO Heads of Government meeting, acknowledging Russia’s hospitality and leadership in the grouping.
A positive sign for the future of India–Russia relations?
The rapid sequence of engagements makes it clear that despite global pressures and India’s increasingly diversified partnerships, Moscow remains one of New Delhi’s key strategic interlocutors. The upcoming Modi–Putin summit will likely focus on defence cooperation, energy security, trade expansion, connectivity, and cooperative efforts in multilateral forums such as the SCO, BRICS and the G20.
The annual summit between the Indian PM and Russian President is the highest institutionalised dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two countries. So far, 22 annual summits have taken place alternatively in India and Russia. The last Summit was held on July 8-9, 2024 in Moscow.
Following the Summit, a Joint Statement titled “India-Russia: Enduring and Expanding Partnership” was released. A separate leaders’ Joint Statement on the development of strategic areas of India-Russia economic cooperation for the period up to 2030 was also released apart from the signing of 9 MoUs/Agreements.