Recently, the Indian PM and the Russian President met for an extended bilateral in Sochi in Russia.
This is seen as an appropriate recalibration to arrest the degradation of diplomatic ties in recent years.
What issues are likely to have been discussed at Sochi?
The Sochi visit was aimed at resetting and rebalancing bilateral ties that have weakened over the past few years.
The special understanding between India and Russia has frayed, with India drifting closer to the U.S. and Russia to China.
Defence - India currently has orders of over $12 billion for Russian military hardware, which is pending delivery.
A new US law (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) seeks to curtail trade with countries engaging its adversaries.
Hence, Modi’s visit was significant to assure Mr. Putin that India is committed to the purchases and won’t be deterred by US pressure.
Regional - Russia’s recent military exercises and arms sales to Pakistan has got India cautious on Russia’s changing outlook towards South Asia.
Also, the increasing engagement of Russians with the Afghani Taliban is another point of concern form the Indian perspective.
An outreach like Sochi would hence be beneficial to know each other’s political foresight and extract concession in some areas to address stress points.
Global - The global instability caused due to the US president Trump is another issue that necessitated increased Indo-Russia engagements.
An outreach to Russia in the backdrop of such inconsistencies emanating from the US would also help in correcting the westward tilt in India’s diplomacy.
What are the outcomes?
The Sochi meet with Russia and the previously held Wuhan meet with China were both said to be informal in nature.
These might have helped in dispelling apprehensions between countries, the post meet conferences have largely been devoid of significance.
While such meets are needed to break the ice, a noticeable shift in foreign policy can’t happen without sufficient transparency.
Importantly, Indian and Russia have planned for greater cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, a region where India is already involved with US.
Notably, Quad (India, US, Japan, and Australia) is also envisioned as a security grouping for the Indo-Pacific region.
