Reference News Network, December 5 report: The U.S. magazine "Foreign Policy" published an article titled "Modi Walking a Tightrope Between Putin and Trump" on December 4. The article said that Indian Prime Minister Modi welcomed Russian President Putin's visit to New Delhi on the 4th and opened a two-day summit. The summit focused on strengthening economic cooperation and signing defense agreements. For Putin, this is an opportunity to show the world that Moscow is not isolated in the Ukraine conflict. But for Modi, this week's talks are a test, seeing how India can maintain an important relationship with Russia while trying to appease the United States.
New Delhi has insisted that it is neutral in the Ukraine conflict. However, U.S. President Trump accused India of funding Moscow's actions by continuing to purchase Russian oil. In the past three years, one-third of India's oil imports have come from Russia.
The article said that this behavior has led to deterioration in U.S.-India relations in recent months. During the Biden administration, Washington regarded New Delhi as an important partner. But under Trump's leadership, this friendship was largely abandoned, and the U.S. imposed high tariffs on India.
In October this year, the U.S. sanctioned Russia's two largest oil companies - Lukoil and Rosneft. In response, India's major oil companies almost completely stopped purchasing Russian crude oil. Putin believes these actions have limited impact. On the 4th, he told Today's India TV channel, "Our energy cooperation with India has not been affected by the current situation, temporary political turbulence or the Ukraine incident."
Experts believe that Modi's efforts to reduce India's purchases of Russian oil are to resolve tensions with Trump. But this may not be enough to satisfy the White House, as New Delhi still relies on Moscow in several other areas.
The article noted that Russia is India's largest arms supplier, with Russian equipment accounting for more than 60% of India's existing inventory. This includes most of India's air defense systems, fighter jets, rifles, and missiles. This week, India is likely to announce the purchase of Russian Su-57 fighters and S-400 air defense systems. (Translated by Xu Yanhong)
Original: toutiao.com/article/7580363167696536110/
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