For over&nbsp;seven decades,&nbsp;India&rsquo;s relations with Russia&nbsp;have been rooted in&nbsp;trust,&nbsp;mutual benefit, and a&nbsp;shared strategic vision. From&nbsp;Soviet-era defence cooperation&nbsp;&mdash; when&nbsp;Moscow&nbsp;was&nbsp;New Delhi&rsquo;s most reliable arms supplier&mdash; to&nbsp;joint space missions&nbsp;and&nbsp;energy projects, the partnership has&nbsp;endured&nbsp;through shifting global tides. Even in the&nbsp;post-Cold War years, when&nbsp;India&nbsp;opened its economy and engaged more deeply with the&nbsp;West,&nbsp;Russia&nbsp;retained its position as a&nbsp;dependable partner, supplying crucial&nbsp;military technology&nbsp;and supporting&nbsp;India&nbsp;in&nbsp;international forums.
The&nbsp;United States, in contrast, has had a more&nbsp;chequered journey&nbsp;with&nbsp;India. The&nbsp;estrangement during the Cold War, fuelled by&nbsp;Washington&rsquo;s military embrace of Pakistan, gave way to&nbsp;cautious engagement&nbsp;in the late&nbsp;1990s. The&nbsp;landmark civil nuclear deal of 2008&nbsp;marked a turning point, and today, the&nbsp;US&nbsp;is one of&nbsp;India&rsquo;s largest trading partners. Yet, the relationship has been punctuated by&nbsp;friction&nbsp;&mdash; over&nbsp;trade barriers,&nbsp;strategic autonomy, and, most recently,&nbsp;New Delhi&rsquo;s continued oil imports from Russia&nbsp;despite&nbsp;Western sanctions.
This week&rsquo;s events underline the&nbsp;complexity&nbsp;of this&nbsp;triangular equation.&nbsp;National Security Adviser Ajit Doval&rsquo;s visit to Moscow&nbsp;&mdash; meeting&nbsp;President Vladimir Putin&nbsp;and&nbsp;Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu&nbsp;&mdash; reinforced the&nbsp;&ldquo;special and privileged&rdquo; Indo-Russian partnership. Barely&nbsp;24 hours earlier,&nbsp;US President Donald Trump&nbsp;doubled tariffs&nbsp;on&nbsp;Indian goods to 50%, ostensibly to&nbsp;pressure Moscow&nbsp;via&nbsp;New Delhi&rsquo;s leverage. The message was clear:&nbsp;Washington&nbsp;recognises&nbsp;India&rsquo;s influence&nbsp;over the&nbsp;Kremlin&nbsp;but is willing to&nbsp;test the limits&nbsp;of the relationship to achieve its&nbsp;Ukraine&nbsp;goals.
History offers telling examples.&nbsp;In&nbsp;1971,&nbsp;Moscow&nbsp;stood firmly with&nbsp;India&nbsp;during the&nbsp;Bangladesh Liberation War,&nbsp;vetoing hostile moves&nbsp;at the&nbsp;UN Security Council. Conversely, in&nbsp;1998, after&nbsp;India&rsquo;s nuclear tests,&nbsp;Washington imposed&nbsp;sanctions. These memories inform&nbsp;New Delhi&rsquo;s instinct&nbsp;to&nbsp;diversify partnerships,&nbsp;resist pressure, and&nbsp;prioritise strategic autonomy.
The path ahead will demand&nbsp;careful navigation. As&nbsp;Russia&nbsp;and the&nbsp;US&nbsp;manoeuvre over&nbsp;Ukraine,&nbsp;India&nbsp;must&nbsp;safeguard its core interests,&nbsp;leveraging both partnerships&nbsp;without being drawn into&nbsp;binary choices. This is&nbsp;diplomacy&nbsp;in an era where&nbsp;alliances are fluid, and&nbsp;trust&nbsp;is a currency as valuable as&nbsp;trade.

New Delhi balances historic trust with Moscow against Washington’s strategic pressure

India, Russia, US: A Delicate Power Triangle

New Delhi balances historic trust with Moscow against Washington’s strategic pressure

August 8, 2025 | 14:14 IST