Why is India so important to Putin?

No country can lack "friends". Against the background of western sanctions lingering, oil prices falling further and the ruble depreciating sharply, centrist India has become the most important "ally" in Putin's eyes.

On June 65438+February local time 1 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Indian Prime Minister Modi at Hyderabad Palace. Image source: CFP

It is difficult for any country to be as self-sufficient as it used to be. In other words, no country can lack "friends". Against the background of western sanctions lingering, oil prices falling further and the ruble depreciating sharply, centrist India has become the most important "ally" in Putin's eyes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has just finished his visit to India. This is Putin's second visit to another big country in Asia after attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing. 165438+1At the APEC summit held in June, Putin gained a series of achievements, such as the Sino-Russian natural gas framework agreement to increase oil exports to China, and China also stressed that he would not impose sanctions on Russia. Putin urgently needs to further open up the situation in diplomacy and economy, and India can let Putin find a breakthrough.

Why is India so important to Putin? As a big country, India has close relations with Russia and the United States. Compared with western powers such as Britain, France and Germany, India has not imposed sanctions on Russia. But compared with China, which has not imposed sanctions on Russia, India can also get arms sales from the West. From this point of view, India is a centrist worthy of Putin's wooing.

According to CNN, India has always remained neutral on the issue of Russia's annexation of Crimea. Indian Prime Minister Modi's remarks may reflect India's diplomatic strategy from one aspect:

If you look closely, you will find that every country is trying to establish good relations with other countries. They may belong to an alliance, but they will also sit down and negotiate with their competitors.

According to an analysis of an article by the Brookings Institution in the United States, Russia currently has few "friends" and has also been hit by sanctions. At the same time, India has repeatedly reiterated that it will not join the ranks of countries that impose sanctions on Russia, which provides Russia with a choice of "making friends". In addition, India is also an important market for Russian merchandise exports, especially armaments.

According to analysts quoted by Xinhua News Agency, Putin's "charging trip" focuses on expanding energy cooperation between Russia and India, aiming to offset the impact of western sanctions on the Russian economy. According to an interview with RIA Novosti quoted by the Press Trust of India (PTI), Putin even said that Russia has the ability to build nearly 25 nuclear power units for India.

According to the agreement signed by India and the Soviet Union in 1980s, the Soviet Union built two nuclear reactors for India in Kudankulam area in southern India. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the project was delayed again and again until 2002. At present, Russia has completed the delivery of two nuclear reactors.

Judging from the results of Putin's trip, India seems to have become an important "ally" of Russia. According to Reuters, Russia will build 12 nuclear reactors for India in the next 20 years, and will also establish a joint venture with India to develop hydropower projects with 10 billion US dollars. In addition, Russia seems to have found another way to export crude oil when oil prices fall. Rosneft signed a preliminary agreement to supply 1 100 million barrels of crude oil to India in the next 10 year. The most surprising thing is that Putin also invited India to participate in the development of Arctic oil resources.

In addition to energy, the military cooperation between the two countries has been further deepened. According to India's NDTV report, India and Russia signed a big arms order, and Russia will allow India to assemble 400 Ka -226T advanced helicopters every year. In addition, Indian troops can also go to Russian bases for training.

In terms of trade, according to Business Insider, although the West is still imposing sanctions on Russia, India has agreed to double its trade with Russia by 20 15 years ago, reaching 20 billion US dollars.

To the annoyance of western countries, Putin also took Ak Senov, the "Prime Minister" of Crimea, with him when he visited India. According to The New York Times, Ak Senov signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with some Indian businessmen in luxury hotels, who call themselves "India-Crimea Cooperation Organization".

According to the Russian Tass news agency, when meeting with Putin, Indian Prime Minister Modi called Russia "India's closest friend and preferred strategic partner". Perhaps India has not let Putin, who is in urgent need of "friends", down? Hope to adopt