Why India continues to support Putin as Modi congratulates him for sham election victory

Narendra Modi has joined the handful of foreign leaders to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his victory in Russia’s sham presidential election, a sign of the two countries’ warm ties despite Moscow’s global isolation following its invasion of Ukraine.

The 71-year-old ex-KGB spy won by a landslide in Russia’s presidential elections, where his only opponents refused to publicly criticise him, getting 87 per cent of the vote and cementing his grip on the country for the next six years.

Western democracies have severely criticised the three-day-long elections as neither free nor fair due to mass censorship and the persecution of any genuine opposition to Mr Putin’s regime. Meanwhile Russia’s closest allies – a small club including China, North Korea and Iran – have rushed to congratulate Mr Putin on winning a fifth term in power.

India describes itself as non-aligned to this East-West axis, and its decades-long strategic ties to Russia have only continued to flourish since the start of the Ukraine war, while the Modi government has also pursued new defence and trade links with the US and European nations.

"Warm congratulations to H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation," the Indian prime minister wrote on X.

“Look forward to working together to further strengthen the time-tested Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia in the years to come,” he added.

Cultural ties between India and Russia go back many generations, and in more recent decades the two countries have worked closely on defence, nuclear and space collaboration.

India, a major recipient of Russian military hardware, dramatically expanded its purchases of Russian crude oil after Western nations brought sanctions and a price cap in response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

India became the world’s leading importer of Russian crude oil last year, according to Kpler market data analysed by The Independent, importing an average 1.75 million barrels per day at a 140 per cent increase in 2022.

The importance of India’s continued investment has not been lost on the Kremlin, which has repeatedly praised India for resisting international pressure to reduce or severe ties.

"India pursues an independent foreign policy, which is not easy in the modern world. But India, with a population of one and a half billion, has the right to this," Mr Putin said in January. "We have very good relationships with India, and our faith in India is demonstrated by the fact that Moscow is New Delhi's greatest foreign investor," he added.

A month earlier, Mr Putin hosted the Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the Kremlin in December 2023. During the meeting, Mr Putin said: “Everything is in your hands and I can say that we are successful because of your direct support.”

Meanwhile, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and North Korea joined India in congratulating the Russian president.

"We firmly believe that under the strategic guidance of president Xi Jinping and president Putin, China-Russia relations will continue to move forward," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.

"China and Russia are each other's largest neighbours and comprehensive strategic partners in the new era," he said.

India and China, along with Russia, are members of the BRICS group of emerging economies that aims to challenge US domination of the global economy.

Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman offered his congratulations on Mr Putin's "decisive" victory and the Kremlin said the two men expressed readiness on the telephone to pursue their "effective coordination" in the OPEC+ oil producers group.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi, both accused by the West of supplying weapons to Russia, stressed their desire for further expansion of bilateral relations with Moscow in Mr Putin’s fifth term.