Putin to Visit India Soon for Key Talks Amid Deepening US-India Tariff Spat

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit India for high-level talks, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval announced during a trip to Moscow. The announcement comes at a critical juncture, just a day after US President Donald Trump slapped additional steep tariffs on Indian goods, directly targeting New Delhi for its continued energy trade with Russia and escalating a major diplomatic and economic showdown.

While the exact dates are still being finalized, the confirmation of Putin’s visit underscores the resilience of the India-Russia strategic partnership in the face of immense pressure from Washington. “We are very excited and delighted to learn about the visit of President Putin to India,” NSA Doval said in Moscow, adding that the dates are “almost finalised now.” This high-level engagement is seen as a powerful reaffirmation of bilateral ties, even as India navigates a complex geopolitical landscape.

The visit’s backdrop is a rapidly intensifying trade war with the US. President Trump this week signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on Indian imports, bringing the total levy to a staggering 50%—the highest imposed on any of India’s Asian trading partners.

The White House order explicitly cited India’s continued purchase of Russian oil as the reason, a practice Trump has vehemently criticized. On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump accused India of profiting from the war in Ukraine, writing, “They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine.”

Washington has further threatened to impose secondary sanctions on all purchasers of Russian oil unless Moscow agrees to a pause in the now four-year-long Ukraine conflict by Friday. India has fiercely pushed back against these measures, with the Ministry of External Affairs calling the tariffs “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.” New Delhi has consistently defended its energy imports from Moscow as a matter of national interest and market dynamics.

Adding another layer of complexity to the diplomatic flurry, the Kremlin has also confirmed that President Putin is expected to meet with President Trump in the coming days, with arrangements for the summit already in motion. As these global power dynamics play out, Putin’s upcoming visit to New Delhi is poised to be a significant and closely watched event, reinforcing India’s commitment to its strategic autonomy.