RUSSIA and India are steadily increasing their cooperation. The Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Support (RELOS) pact, which came into force earlier this year and the details of which were announced by Russia this month, is a step forward in the fraternal ties between the two countries. This, however, falls short of a defence cooperation agreement that India under Indira Gandhi signed with the USSR, which had helped New Delhi immensely in its intervention in what was then East Pakistan for the formation of Bangladesh as a new nation in 1971. Though Russia did not get directly involved, the existence of such a pact at that time came as a morale boost to India. The present pact, which was under discussion since 2019, has a limited purpose, but its implications are far-reaching. The agreement facilitates reciprocal access to military bases, ports and airfields for refuelling, repairs etc during joint military exercises, training and the like. The agreement allows India long-range naval deployments and exercises in the Arctic and the Pacific. The bilateral understanding, it is said, also helps India in importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia at a time when New Delhi is keen on diversifying its energy sources.
Notably, India’s active engagement with Russia comes after a period of alienation between New Delhi and Moscow, especially after the end of the Cold War, and coinciding also with India’s warming up with the US since the early 1990s. After the dismemberment of the USSR and with Vladimir Putin heading Russia for over a quarter of a century, Russia too adopted a policy of disengagement from the global power play. Putin, on his part, cared less for India. India reduced its sourcing of military equipment from Russia and reached out more to the West. In between, Russia under Putin had closer linkages with Pakistan, also in relation to the Afghanistan affairs. Putin strengthened Russia’s ties with China. India looked at these with scepticism. However, Russia’s war with Ukraine occasioned a fresh cooperation between Russia and India through an energy deal. Despite the UN sanctions on Russia, the Narendra Modi government tied up with Russia for oil supplies to India in rupee trade – which antagonised President Donald Trump. The hefty rise in US tariffs on Indian goods followed as a punitive step.
It is safe to suspect now that Trump’s tariff hit on India also had in its backdrop the increasing bonhomie between Moscow and New Delhi. The India-Russia logistics pact was quietly signed in February 2025; and the US hike in tariffs on India by 50 per cent came six months later. Curiously, the good relations that India sought to build with the US in the last quarter of century, starting with the Narasimha Rao term, took a hit now. At the same time, India explains that the US’s pro-Pakistan stands are a reason for New Delhi to get closer to Russia. Notably, Indian diplomacy is facing odds on different fronts. Close allies have distanced themselves from India – Nepal first and later Bangladesh. The distancing between the US and India might also have a negative bearing on India’s regional security vis-a-vis China.
