2 min readNew DelhiSep 11, 2026 04:27 PM IST
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their bilateral meet. (ANI Photo/ Image enhanced using AI)Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Delhi for a bilateral discussion Friday afternoon, a day before the two-day BRICS summit. The meeting – expected to focus on trade, energy, and defence – began at 3.30 pm.
Russia remains one of India’s largest crude oil suppliers; even though imports fell 26 per cent in August, Delhi still bought roughly two million barrels per day.
That relationship has been underlined by the war in Iran and the squeeze on imports via the Strait of Hormuz, and despite pressure from the West – specifically the US – to scale down purchases Washington claims is funding the Ukraine war.
