What to know about India's ties with Russia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington in June was expected to reduce India’s dependence on Moscow for arms, economic ties and technology as New Delhi and Washington try to strengthen the Quad partnership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington in June was expected to reduce India's dependence on Moscow for arms, economic ties and technology as New Delhi and Washington try to strengthen the Quad partnership, which also includes Japan and Australia, to contain growing aggression from China.

India considers Russia a time-tested ally from the Cold War era with key cooperation in defence, oil, nuclear energy and space exploration. But that partnership has become fraught since Moscow started developing closer ties with India’s main rival, China, because of the war against Ukraine.

India started building a strong relationship with the then-Soviet Union in the mid-1950s during the Cold War, then strengthened those ties over conflicts with Pakistan.

The Soviet Union helped mediate a cease-fire between India and Pakistan to end the 1965 war over control of the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. Then, during India’s war with Pakistan in December 1971, the Soviet Union used its veto power to support India at the United Nations, while the U.S. ordered a task force in the Bay of Bengal in support of Pakistan.

India and the Soviet Union signed a treaty of peace, friendship, and cooperation in August 1971. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, it was replaced by the Treaty of Indo-Russian Friendship and Cooperation in January 1993.

India has so far avoided voting against Russia or criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin since the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

Editorial | Old friends: On Russia-India bilateral ties and the Ukraine issue