In the so-called "great power game" of the West, the relationship between Russia and India has always been an interesting phenomenon. Judging from recent events, Russian-Indian relations are getting better and better, Putin's advance layout is beginning to bear fruit, and the West really has no way to take Modi.
A few days ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar held talks in Moscow to discuss cooperation in the joint production of military equipment. The two sides stressed the strategic nature of the military and technical cooperation between the two countries and said that concrete progress had been made. At the same time, Russia and India also agreed to expand cooperation in various ways, including the construction of international north-south transport corridors and sea routes.
Jaishankar said India's relationship with Russia is based on strategic fit and geopolitical interests, and bilateral trade is expected to reach a record high.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
The intensity of this trend of cooperation between Russia and India will obviously surprise the West. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the West has continued to woo India, not only giving a large amount of economic cooperation and investment, but also once expressing its willingness to provide weapons and equipment to India.
The West's aim is to make India and Russia "sit separately" and win Russia's most important partner in South Asia, thus adding a strong touch to the "complete isolation of Russia".
The idea of the West is indeed "good", and it has also increased its bargaining chips and pulled Japan into investment. For India, this is a very rare window period for cooperation with the West, and it can even be said to be of strategic significance for India to develop its commercial economy and upgrade its real industry.
India's attitude, however, is very ambiguous.
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India has basically accepted all the cooperation with the West, but it also maintains a high degree of ties with Russia, and India is one of the most active countries in purchasing Russian energy.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak recently revealed that Russia has successfully circumvented the West's "oil sanctions", and about ninety percent of its oil and petroleum products are exported to China and India.
India continues to maintain relations with Russia, and in addition to the fact that it is due to the traditions of both countries, the reality of India does not allow it to leave Russia. India's industry, especially its military industry, is deeply influenced by Russia, and the main equipment of its army is still dominated by Russian-made weapons.
Although the West says it can help India wean itself off Russia, the efficiency and conditions of the West make India very suspicious. In particular, India is very resistant to some attached political conditions, which is tantamount to interfering in the formulation of India's national strategy. After all, India wants to be independent, not to be a pawn of others.
In addition, the sincerity of the West is also a big problem, like the United States and Canada always use the Sikh issue to bind India, and the hegemony of the United States in the Indian Ocean has not relaxed at all.
In other words, no matter what the West promises, India will always see the shadow of a "blank check". India has to consider whether it is possible to be suppressed by the United States in the future, after all, there are too many similar precedents.
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It is worth mentioning that Putin's advance layout is also a key factor in Russian-Indian relations. According to recent data released by the Russian Ministry of Finance, the revenue of the Russian oil and gas industry in 2023 is expected to reach about 9 trillion rubles, which is comparable to 2021.
It is important to know that this industry contributes more than 27% to Russia's GDP and about 57% to total export earnings.
In general, Russia's economy has largely returned to the level it was before the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine. With the West almost completely banning the import of Russian energy, India has indeed become the key to the Russian economy.
Even before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia had begun to build closer ties with Asia-Pacific countries, and India was one of the most important of them. Previously, Russia provided almost no crude oil to India, but in the past two years, India's share has reached 40%.
Therefore, the advance layout of Putin and the Russian government has laid a foundation for Russia's current situation.
On the one hand, India's industrial development is increasing the demand for crude oil, and on the other hand, India is making a lot of money by processing this crude oil to export to Europe.
Therefore, the cooperation between India and Russia is a win-win cooperation. Judging from the recently revealed news, Putin invited Modi to visit Russia, and Russian-Indian relations will be further improved.
And now the West is simply unable to make Modi "obedient", and last year he visited India repeatedly, but this year it seems much more deserted.