Putin's rare state visit: Russia Prez to land in New Delhi on Thurs evening

Visit highlights India's strategic ties as Putin restricts travel post-2022, avoiding ICC warrant implications

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Russian President Vladimir Putin will land in New Delhi on Thursday evening for a two-day state visit. The Russian President has curtailed his foreign travel since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine hostilities on February 22, 2022.

 

In the last four years, Putin has restricted his foreign visits to Russia’s immediate neighbourhood, and closest of Moscow’s allies, such as China, North Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam, and former Soviet Republics, such as Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Central Asian Republics.

 

Other than these, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and now India are some of the other countries he has visited. He travelled to Anchorage in Alaska in the United States to meet US President Donald Trump in August. He last visited India in December 2021.

 

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against President Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights. The Court claimed to have evidence against the two individuals for the war crime of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children from territories occupied by Russia. India is neither a signatory, nor has ratified the ICC’s Rome Statute and under no obligation to execute the warrant.

 

Putin’s foreign visits since January 2022 

 

2022: China, Iran, Belarus, Armenia and Central Asian Republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan

 

2023: Kyrgyzstan, China, Kazakhstan, Belarus, UAE, Saudi Arabia,

 

2024: China, Belarus, Uzbekistan, North Korea, Vietnam, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan

 

2025: Belarus, Alaska (US), China, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and India (scheduled)