Russia's Putin seeks to boost energy, defence exports with India visit

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool via REUTERS

NEW DELHI, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin starts a two-day visit to India from Thursday, pitching for more sales of Russian oil, missile systems and fighter jets in a bid to restore energy and defence ties hit by U.S. pressure on the South Asian nation.

Russia has supplied arms to India for decades, with New Delhi emerging as its top buyer of seaborne oil despite Western sanctions after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.