Terms of Reference (ToR) signed amid pressure from the U.S to reduce its economic ties with Russia. File
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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin from October 22-23 to attend the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan.

The BRICS Summit in Kazan is being held under the chairmanship of Russia, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). During his visit, PM Modi is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from BRICS member countries and invited leaders in Kazan.

The MEA said, “The Summit, themed “Strengthening Multilateralism for Just Global Development and Security,” will provide an important platform for leaders to discuss key global issues.:”

It further said, “The Summit will offer a valuable opportunity to assess the progress of initiatives launched by BRICS and to identify potential areas for future collaboration.”

The leaders of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries met for the first time in St Petersburg in Russia in 2006. After a series of high-level meetings, the first BRIC summit was held in Russia’s Yekaterinburg in 2009.

BRIC group was renamed as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) after South Africa was accepted as a full member at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York in September 2010.

BRICS is an important grouping bringing together the major emerging economies from the world, comprising 41 per cent of the world population, having 24 per cent of the world GDP and over 16 per cent share in the world trade.

Earlier in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended an invitation to PM Modi, proposing a bilateral meeting on October 22, on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan. During the invitation, Putin also referred to PM Modi as a “good friend.”

The remarks by Putin came while he met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the sidelines of the BRICS National Security Advisers’ meeting. Putin had a meeting with Doval at the Constantine Palace in Russia’s St. Petersberg.

Quoting President Putin, the Kremlin in a statement said, “We will be expecting Mr Modi in Kazan. I also suggest holding a bilateral meeting there on October 22 in order to close the books on our joint work in implementing the agreements reached during his visit to Moscow and outline some prospects for the near future.”

“Please extend my warmest regards and best wishes to Mr Modi, my good friend,” the statement added.

It will be PM Narendra Modi’s second visit to Russia in 2024 as he travelled to Moscow in July to attend the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit. During his visit to Russia, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Russian President Putin.

PM Modi was also conferred with Russia’s highest civilian award, the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle at the Kremlin in Moscow. The two leaders visited the Rosatom Pavilion at the VDNKh Exhibition Centre in Moscow.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Dismissing a report by news agency Reuters claiming that ammunition sold by Indian manufacturers has been diverted to Ukraine by European customers and New Delhi did not stop the trade, the Ministry of External Affairs has termed it “inaccurate and mischievous”. 

Answering questions on the report, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday, “We have seen the Reuters report. It is speculative and misleading. It implies violations by India, where none exist and, hence, is inaccurate and mischievous.

Emphasising that India has an impeccable track record of compliance with international obligations on the export of military and dual-use items, Mr Jaiswal added, “India has been carrying out its defence exports taking into account its international obligations on non-proliferation and based on its own robust legal and regulatory framework, which includes a holistic assessment of relevant criteria, including end-user obligations and certifications.”

In its report, Reuters cited conversations with eleven Indian and European government and defence industry officials and an analysis of commercially available customs data to claim that artillery shells sold by Indian arms manufacturers had been diverted to Ukraine by European customers and the Indian government did not intervene to stop the trade despite protests from Moscow.

The report said the supply of munitions, which have helped Ukraine in the war against Russia, had been happening for over a year and the Kremlin had raised the issue with India at least twice, including in July, during a meeting between Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. 

It said Indian arms export regulations specify that weaponry can be used only by the declared purchaser and future sales to them can be stopped if there are unauthorised transfers. 

“Two Indian government and two defence industry sources told Reuters that Delhi produced only a very small amount of the ammunition being used by Ukraine, with one official estimating that it was under 1% of the total arms imported by Kyiv since the war. The news agency couldn’t determine if the munitions were resold or donated to Kyiv by the European customers,” the report said.

“Among the European countries sending Indian munitions to Ukraine are Italy and the Czech Republic, which is leading an initiative to supply Kyiv with artillery shells from outside the European Union, according to a Spanish and a senior Indian official, as well as a former top executive at Yantra India, a state-owned company whose munitions are being used by Ukraine,” it added.

Artillery shells sold by Indian arms makers have been diverted by European customers to Ukraine and New Delhi has not intervened to stop the trade despite protests from Moscow, according to eleven Indian and European government and defence industry officials, as well as a Reuters analysis of commercially available customs data.

The transfer of munitions to support Ukraine’s defence against Russia has occurred for more than a year, according to the sources and the customs data. Indian arms export regulations limit the use of weaponry to the declared purchaser, who risks future sales being terminated if unauthorised transfers occur.

The Kremlin has raised the issue on at least two occasions, including during a July meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Indian counterpart, three Indian officials said.

Details of the ammunition transfers are reported by Reuters for the first time.

The foreign and defence ministries of Russia and India did not respond to questions. In January, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a news conference that India had not sent or sold artillery shells to Ukraine.

Two Indian government and two defence industry sources told Reuters that Delhi produced only a very small amount of the ammunition being used by Ukraine, with one official estimating that it was under 1% of the total arms imported by Kyiv since the war. The news agency couldn’t determine if the munitions were resold or donated to Kyiv by the European customers.

Among the European countries sending Indian munitions to Ukraine are Italy and the Czech Republic, which is leading an initiative to supply Kyiv with artillery shells from outside the European Union, according to a Spanish and a senior Indian official, as well as a former top executive at Yantra India, a state-owned company whose munitions are being used by Ukraine.

The Indian official said that Delhi was monitoring the situation. But, along with a defence industry executive with direct knowledge of the transfers, he said India had not taken any action to throttle the supply to Europe. Like most of the 20 people interviewed by Reuters, they spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The Ukrainian, Italian, Spanish and Czech defence ministries did not respond to requests for comment.

Delhi and Washington, Ukraine’s main security backer, have recently strengthened defence and diplomatic cooperation against the backdrop of a rising China, which both regard as their main rival.

India also has warm ties with Russia, its primary arms supplier for decades, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has refused to join the Western-led sanctions regime against Moscow.

But Delhi, long the world’s largest weapons importer, also sees the lengthy war in Europe as an opportunity to develop its nascent arms export sector, according to six Indian sources familiar with official thinking.

Ukraine, which is battling to contain a Russian offensive toward the eastern logistics hub of Pokrovsk, has a dire shortage of artillery ammunition.

The White House declined to comment and the U.S. State Department referred questions on Delhi’s arms exports to the Indian government.

India exported just over $3 billion of arms between 2018 and 2023, according to data compiled by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said at an Aug. 30 conference that defence exports surpassed $2.5 billion in the last fiscal year and that Delhi wanted to increase that to about $6 billion by 2029.

Commercially available customs records show that in the two years before the February 2022 invasion, three major Indian ammunition makers – Yantra, Munitions India and Kalyani Strategic Systems – exported just $2.8 million in munitions components to Italy and the Czech Republic, as well as Spain and Slovenia, where defence contractors have invested heavily in supply chains for Ukraine.

Between February 2022 and July 2024, the figure had increased to $135.25 million, the data show, including completed munitions, which India began exporting to the four nations.

Arzan Tarapore, an India defence expert at Stanford University, said that Delhi’s push to expand its arms exports was a major factor in the transfer of its arms to Ukraine.

“Probably in the sudden recent expansion, some instances of end-user violations have occurred.”

Discreet Deliveries

Unlisted Italian defence contractor Meccanica per l’Elettronica e Servomeccanismi (MES) was among the companies sending Indian-made shells to Ukraine, said the former top Yantra official.

MES is Yantra’s biggest foreign client. The executive said the Rome-based company buys empty shells from India and fills them with explosives.

Several Western firms had explosive filling capabilities but lack the manufacturing capacity to mass produce artillery shells, the executive said.

Yantra said in its 2022-23 annual report that it had agreed a deal with an unnamed Italian client to set up a manufacturing line for L15A1 shells, which the former Yantra executive identified as MES.

MES and Yantra India did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Customs data indicate that Yantra shipped $35 million worth of empty 155mm L15A1 shells to MES between February 2022 and July 2024.

Customs records also show that in February 2024, U.K.-based arms company Dince Hill – whose board includes a top MES executive – exported $6.7 million in ammunition from Italy to Ukraine.

Among the exports were 155mm L15A1 shells, which the customs declaration said were manufactured by MES for Ukraine’s Defence Ministry and supplied for “promoting the defense capability and mobilization readiness of Ukraine.”

Dince Hill did not respond to an email seeking comment. Its new owner, Rome-based Effequattro Consulting, could not be reached.

In another instance, Spain’s Transport Minister Oscar Puente shared on social media in May an end user agreement signed by a Czech defence official that authorised the transfer of 120mm and 125mm ammunition shells from Munitions India to arms dealer Czech Defence Systems.

Pro-Palestinian activists had alleged that the Borkum, a vessel carrying Indian-made arms which had stopped in a Spanish port, was carrying the weapons to Israel.

Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported in May the final destination was actually Ukraine. A Spanish official and another source familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that Kyiv was the end user. Munitions India and CDS did not respond to questions.

Customs records dated March 27 show Munitions India had shipped 10,000 rounds of 120mm and 125mm mortar shells, worth more than $9 million, from Chennai to CDS.

Friendly Fire

Russia, which supplies more than 60% of Delhi’s arms imports, is a valued partner for India. In July, PM Modi chose Moscow for his first bilateral international trip since being elected to a third term.

At another meeting that month in Kazakhstan between top Indian diplomat Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Lavrov, the Russian minister pressed his counterpart about Indian munitions being used by Ukrainians and complained that some were made by state-owned Indian companies, according to an Indian official with direct knowledge of the encounter.

The official did not share Jaishankar’s response.

Walter Ladwig, a South Asia security expert at King’s College London, said the diversion of a relatively small amount of ammunition was geopolitically useful for Delhi.

“It allows India to show partners in the West that it is not ‘on Russia’s side’ in the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” he said, adding that Moscow held little leverage over Delhi’s decisions.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

India overtook China as the world’s biggest importer of Russian oil in July. Image for representation purposes only. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India overtook China as the world’s biggest importer of Russian oil in July as Chinese refiners bought less because of lower profit margins from producing fuels, a comparison of import data showed.

Russian crude made up a record 44% of India’s overall imports last month, rising to a record 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd), 4.2% higher than in June and 12% more than a year ago, data on Indian shipments from trade and industry sources showed.

That surpassed China’s July oil imports from Russia of 1.76 million bpd via pipelines and shipments, based on Chinese customs data.

Indian refiners have been gorging on Russian oil sold at discounts after Western nations imposed sanctions against Moscow and curtailed their energy purchases in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“India’s requirement for Russian oil is going to go up as long as there are no further tightening of sanctions,” an Indian refining source said.

India’s trade with Russia has increased since Russia began its war against Ukraine in February 2022 mainly because of oil and fertiliser imports, a move helping to keep a lid on global prices and controlling inflation.

India’s rising purchases are changing the flow of Russian ESPO Blend crude from traditional Chinese buyers to South Asia. ESPO imports to India jumped in July to 188,000 bpd as larger Suezmax vessels were used, according to the data.

Refiners in northeast China are typically the biggest ESPO buyers because of their close proximity, but their demand has fallen because of tepid fuel demand.

Iraq continued to be the second-largest oil supplier to India last month, followed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

India’s crude purchases from the Middle East rose 4% in July, pushing up the region’s share in India’s overall mix to 40% from 38% in June, the data showed.

File picture of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Kremlin in Moscow
| Photo Credit: via Reuters

Observing that India has a longstanding relationship with Russia, the U.S. has said that it has encouraged New Delhi to “utilise” that relationship with Moscow and urge President Vladimir Putin to end the “illegal war” against Ukraine.

These remarks were made by State Department Spokesperson Mathew Miller at his daily news conference on Monday.

“India has a longstanding relationship with Russia. I think that’s well-known. And we have encouraged India to utilise that relationship with Russia, that longstanding relationship and the unique position that they have, to urge President Putin to end his illegal war and to find a just peace, a lasting peace to this conflict; to tell Putin to respect the UN Charter, to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he said.

“That’s what we’ll continue to impress upon the Government of India, which is an important partner of ours when it comes to their relationship with Russia,” Mr. Miller said in response to a question.

Mr. Miller made similar remarks on July 9 soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi left Russia.

Mr. Modi was in Russia for two days from July 8-9 for the 22nd India-Russia annual summit that has been watched closely by the West amidst the raging Ukraine conflict.

This was the Prime Minister’s first visit to Russia since the war started between Moscow and Kyiv in 2022.

During his talks with Mr. Putin on July 9, Prime Minister Modi told President Putin that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed amid bombs and bullets.

India has been stoutly defending its “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Russia and maintained the momentum in the ties notwithstanding the Ukraine conflict.

India has not yet condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has consistently pitched for a resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

New Delhi:

India on Wednesday dismissed as “factually incorrect” reports about differences with Russia on the issue of Ukraine that led to the scrapping of a larger delegation-level meeting during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Moscow.

“To the best of my knowledge, there are no cancellations of any particular programming element during the Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a media briefing in Delhi.

He was responding to a question about some friction in Moscow that led to the scrapping of one session.

“I find it surprising but there are no facts to this factually incorrect, quite misleading (report). The Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow was extremely successful,” he said.

The discussions between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin far exceeded the time that was allocated by the two sides. “And there was no cancellation of any kind of programme,” he added.

Earlier, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency quoted Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Prime Minister Modi and President Putin decided to keep things intimate at their Tuesday meeting in Moscow, covering all topics productively without the need for a larger breakout session.

When asked why the talks between the two leaders were not followed by a meeting with larger delegations, Peskov explained this was not because of some problems but rather that the conversation between Putin and Modi that lasted more than three hours (and) was attended by officials in charge of “almost all major spheres of [bilateral] cooperation.” 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Moscow:

Russia is expecting a “very important and full-fledged visit” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Moscow, which is crucial for Russian-Indian relations, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Modi will be in Moscow from July 8 to 9 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.

The two leaders will review the entire range of multifaceted relations between the two countries and exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest, the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi on Thursday while announcing the high-level visit.

The programme of Prime Minister Modi in Moscow will be extensive and the two leaders will be able to have informal talks, Mr Peskov said in an interview with Russia’s state-run VGTRK television channel.

“Obviously, the agenda will be extensive, if not to say overbusy. It will be an official visit, and we hope that the heads will be able to talk in an informal way as well,” he said.

Mr Peskov said that Russian-Indian relations are at the level of strategic partnership. He said that there would be both one-on-one talks in the Kremlin and those involving delegations.

“We are expecting a very important and full-fledged visit, which is so crucial for Russian-Indian relations,” he was quoted as saying by the official Tass news agency.

It will be PM Modi’s first visit to Russia in nearly five years. His last visit to Russia was in 2019 when he attended an economic conclave in the Far East city of Vladivostok.

The annual summit between the prime minister of India and the president of Russia is the highest institutional dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two countries.

So far, 21 annual summits have taken place alternately in India and Russia.

The last annual summit was held on December 6, 2021 in New Delhi. President Putin had visited India to attend the summit.

Astana:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said he clearly and strongly raised the issue of Indians stranded in the Russia-Ukraine conflict zone with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov during a bilateral in Kazakhstan’s Asthana.

On whether he raised the stranded Indians issue with Lavrov, Mr Jaishankar told ANI, “Very clearly and strongly… several Indians have been pressed into service with the Russian Army. Only when they come back will we know the full circumstances. But whatever the circumstances are, to us it is unacceptable that Indian citizens find themselves in the army of another country in a warzone. I told him that we seek their cooperation and that they are our friend and partners. We have to find a way so that these people can return to India as quickly and effectively as possible.”

S Jaishankar added that Mr Lavrov appreciated the point and the Indian Foreign Ministry has been speaking to the Russian Defence Ministry in this regard.

“I urged him that we need a much stronger follow-up. I have taken it up and I intend to continue taking it up until all our people there come back,” he said.

Mr Jaishankar also shared his view on the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia and called it a great opportunity for both leaders to sit down and directly talk to each other on the growing economic relationship between the two countries.

“There was a bit of a delay in our annual summits, it is a good tradition, we are two countries which have a strong history of working together. We did value the need for an annual summit. Last year when I went to Moscow, I carried a message from the PM that we are committed to the annual summit and we will do it sooner…it is a regular recurrence. It is a way of taking stock of any relationship…one of the biggest changes has been that our economic relationship with Russia has grown tremendously…at the leadership of level, it will be a great opportunity for PM Modi and (Russian) President Putin to sit down and directly talk to each other,” Mr Jaishankar said.

Around 20 persons were allegedly duped into fighting for the Russian Army in the war against Ukraine on the pretext of lucrative jobs. At least two Indians have died.

The MEA confirmed in April that among the Indian nationals who were working as support staff in the Russian Army, 10 have returned to India.

Earlier this year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), busted a major human trafficking network running across the country targeting Indian nationals on the promise of offering lucrative jobs abroad but allegedly sending them to the Russia-Ukraine war zone.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)