India has turned to its longstanding partner Russia for bolstered oil supplies amid the disruptions caused by the Iran war, which has invigorated bilateral ties.

The two nations aim to sustain their energy trade despite international sanctions, while strategically balancing influences from the United States and China, according to analysts, according to a South China Morning Post report.

A familiar refrain has re-emerged among Indian officials and political observers: Russia remains New Delhi’s “all-weather friend”. This perception is rooted in profound strategic interests, with both countries regarding each other as essential counterweights to China and a volatile United States.

On Friday, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov announced that Moscow is ideally placed to increase oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries to India. This comes against the backdrop of energy supply turmoil sparked by the Iran war.

Manturov made these remarks at the conclusion of a two-day visit to India. During the trip, he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, and other Indian ministers in Delhi to deliberate on trade, energy, and industrial collaboration.

Reports indicate Delhi is negotiating with Moscow to resume direct LNG imports from Russia for the first time since the 2022 Ukraine war. Meanwhile, Indian refiners have placed substantial orders for Russian crude, securing 60 million barrels for April.

Bilateral relations faced strain since August, when US President Donald Trump levied a penalty tariff on Delhi for purchasing Russian crude. The measure sought to deter India from engaging with Moscow’s energy sector.

On 2 April, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman for India’s external affairs ministry, praised the “deep-rooted, time-tested relationship” between the two nations. He highlighted ongoing cooperation in trade, defence, and strategic domains during Manturov’s visit and that of other Russian officials.

Indian analysts, appearing on local television in recent days, have echoed this sentiment by describing Russia as India’s “trusted friend”. These views align with Prime Minister Modi’s own words, who labelled Moscow an “all-weather friend” during his July 2024 visit to Russia and again in December last year, when President Vladimir Putin attended the annual bilateral summit in Delhi.

In a social media post on Thursday, Modi noted that both sides had built on their 2025 summit discussions. They advanced cooperation in trade, fertilisers, connectivity, and people-to-people ties.

Former Indian diplomat Anil Trigunayat, who served as Delhi’s deputy chief of mission in Moscow, emphasised that ties between Delhi and Moscow thrive on the principle of “a friend in need is a friend indeed”. He pointed to mutual interests in the energy domain.

Trigunayat affirmed that India-Russia relations remain trusted and time-tested, undeterred by global pressures. The adage of friendship in times of need resonates strongly here.

At a conference in Moscow last month focused on bilateral relations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov commended India’s “independent foreign policy”. He described their “time-tested” friendship as a model of interstate relations grounded in mutual trust and respect.

Analyst Ivan Lidarev, a visiting research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of South Asian Studies, cautioned that “true friendship” in international relations is rare, driven more by interests than emotions. Nonetheless, India-Russia ties form a robust yet increasingly circumscribed partnership.

Lidarev noted that the Iran war has evidently prompted New Delhi to deepen links with Moscow, though the relationship extends beyond this crisis. Both nations envision a multipolar world order emphasising state sovereignty, a prominent Global South role, defined spheres of influence for major powers, and robust multilateral institutions.

India and Russia also seek to curb China’s expanding influence, viewing each other as key allies in this effort through forums like Brics and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Lidarev warned that without this partnership, Russia might tilt further towards Beijing, while India would depend more on an unreliable United States.

Manturov’s visit followed India’s defence ministry signing a US$46.9 million contract with Russia’s Rosoboronexport last month for an air defence missile system.

Rajan Kumar, associate professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of International Studies, argued that maintaining close ties with Moscow has prevented a tighter Russia-China alignment and kept Pakistan at bay. Russia, in turn, values India’s vast market.

Kumar highlighted that despite Western sanctions post-Ukraine war, Russia endured thanks to continued trade with India and China. Moscow thus recognises the partnership’s significance.

Michael Rubin, senior fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute and former Pentagon official, observed that Moscow is exploiting the Middle East conflict to strengthen bonds with Delhi. He recalled Russia’s past defaults on weapon supply contracts to India.

Rubin suggested that while New Delhi and the Kremlin share frustrations with the United States, India faces a future of unpredictability. This stems from the provocative and unilateral actions of both Trump and Putin.

Rahul Wankhede, research analyst at Delhi’s Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, referenced the Rosoboronexport deal. He noted longstanding defence cooperation between India and Russia.

Many of India’s weapons trace origins to Russia, necessitating ongoing reliance on Moscow for spares, maintenance, and upgrades, per Wankhede. The United States monitors these ties and has threatened sanctions, yet refrains from severing defence links with Delhi due to its strategic value—a pattern likely to persist.

On Manturov’s energy remarks, Wankhede explained that India’s engagement with Russian energy stems from cost benefits, supply reliability, and Russia’s underutilised refining capacity, rather than ideological alignment.

Wankhede stressed that Russian oil imported by India serves not just domestic needs. Much is refined and re-exported to Europe and elsewhere, reflecting a complex geoeconomic web where India, Russia, and even Western economies interdependent on stable energy flows despite sanctions.

SCMP