Modi to meet Putin amid US tariff heat

From trade to energy, talks expected to boost ties further

- ARCHIS MOHAN

At a time when India is facing relentless pressure from the White House to cut down its purchase of Russian crude oil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday afternoon in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.

The two leaders will meet after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders' meeting concludes, people in the know said. Putin landed in Tianjin on Sunday morning to attend the SCO summit, while Modi reached the city on Saturday evening, and held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday afternoon.

This will be Modi (left) and Putin's first in-person meeting after Trump became US President for a second time. The two had last met on the margins of the Brics Summit in Kazan, Russia, in October 2024.

New Delhi, while opting not to retaliate yet to the American tariffs, has in recent weeks sought to reinforce its friendship with Moscow, and recalibrate its ties with Beijing rather than surrender to Washington's diktats.