Putin and Modi meet in New Delhi

NEW DELHI — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks in New Delhi on Friday, as New Delhi rolled out the red carpet for the Russian leader and Modi told him India supported peace efforts in Ukraine.

Putin was on his first visit to India in four years. The visit comes at a time when New Delhi is engaged in talks with the US for a trade deal to cut punitive tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on its goods over India's Russian oil purchases.

Putin landed in Delhi on Thursday to a warm welcome from Modi, who greeted him with an embrace on the tarmac of the airport. On Friday, Putin was given a ceremonial welcome on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the colonial-era presidential palace, with a 21-gun salute as his convoy drove in.

"India is not neutral — India has a position, and that position is for peace," Modi told Putin as they opened their talks on Friday.

"We support every effort for peace, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with every initiative taken for peace."

Putin, in response, thanked Modi for his attention and efforts aimed at resolving the conflict.

"We had the opportunity, and you gave me that opportunity, to speak in detail about what is happening on the Ukrainian track and about the steps we are taking jointly with some other partners, including the United States, toward a possible peaceful settlement of this crisis," Putin said.

On oil, Putin said he was ready to continue "uninterrupted shipments" of fuel to India.

"Russia is a reliable supplier of oil, gas, coal, and everything that is required for the development of India's energy."

"We are ready to continue uninterrupted shipments of fuel for the fast-growing Indian economy," he added.

Moscow has been India's top arms supplier for decades and has said it wants to import more Indian goods in an effort to grow trade to $100 billion by 2030, a figure that so far has been skewed in its favor due to New Delhi's energy imports.

Since European countries cut their reliance on Russian energy after the Russia-Ukraine conflict started nearly four years ago, India ramped up its purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, only to reduce them under pressure from US tariffs and sanctions this year.

Accusations refuted

In an interview with broadcaster India Today, which was aired late on Thursday, Putin refuted the US' accusations regarding India's oil purchases from Russia.

Putin said: "The US itself still buys nuclear fuel from us for its own nuclear power plants. That is also fuel."

He further added, "If the US has the right to buy our fuel, why shouldn't India have the same privilege? This question deserves a thorough examination, and we stand ready to discuss it, including with President Trump."

During the talks, Modi thanked Putin for his "unwavering commitment toward India", and said that "energy security has been a strong and important pillar of the India-Russia partnership".

"We have agreed on an economic cooperation program until 2030," Modi told Putin.

After the summit, the two countries said in a joint statement that Russia and India will reshape their defense ties to take account of New Delhi's push for self-reliance.

"In response to India's aspirations for self-reliance, the partnership is currently being reoriented toward joint research and development, as well as the production of advanced defense platforms," it said.

Officials also exchanged a raft of agreements spanning jobs, health, shipping, and chemicals.

Among them is a memorandum of understanding signed by Russia's top potash and ammonium nitrate producer Uralchem and three Indian firms to set up a joint venture to build a urea plant in Russia.

Agencies - Xinhua