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Modi, Putin to rekindle bromance at BRICS summit in September: Here's what to expect

Vladimir Putin's previous visit to New Delhi was in December 2025 for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, the Russian president's first trip to India since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began

Looking ahead: A July 2024 photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow | AP

Russian President Vladimir will visit New Delhi from September 12 to 13 in connection with the BRICS Summit chaired by India.

Along the with the multilateral engagement, the two sides are also expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. The two sides are likely to discuss ties in trade and defence along with geopolitical issues and counter-terrorism.

Putin has visited India 10 times in the past. His previous visit to New Delhi was in December 2025 for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit, the Russian president's first trip to India since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began. It also marked the 25th anniversary of the Declaration on Strategic Partnership between the two nations.

What makes Putin's 2025 visit different from the upcoming trip is the Middle East conflict, which has adversely impacted the global economy and trade.

This comes as Russia is set to deliver the fourth squadron of the S-400 air defence missile system by end of this week. It is set to be deployed in the Rajasthan sector. The fifth and final S-400 system will reach India in November, after the upcoming BRICS summit. It is likely to stationed along the northern border with China. The S-400 squadrons were instrumental in countering drone and missile attacks from Pakistan during Operation Sindoor in May 2025. Earlier, reports suggested that Russia has assured India on technology transfer linked to Su-57 fighter jets.

India, meanwhile, continues to import Russian oil irrespective of US sanction waivers. The United States has extended by a month a waiver from sanctions on Russian oil already at sea.

India and Russia are also working on a project to build the largest Indian nuclear plant and added that three out of six reactors have already been connected to the energy network.

Putin will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for a bilateral meeting.

During the previous BRICS meet in Rio de Janeiro in 2025, the member nations in their declaration questioned the governance structure of the World Bank and the IMF over dollarisation of the global economy. However, the declaration fell short of mentioning "de-dollarisation".