When Modi and Putin sit for dinner in Putin’s Moscow dacha tonight, they will chew on a geopolitical and bilateral context that has changed dramatically since they broke roti together in Delhi in 2021. The Ukraine war that began in February 2022 not only delayed their meeting but has also thrown up unprecedented challenges and opportunities. Both leaders are veterans of the annual bilateral summit, which sits at the apex of a multi-layered diplomatic architecture. Putin has attended most of the 21 summit meetings since 2000, when he signed a strategic partnership agreement with then PM Vajpayee. The adjectives ‘special and privileged’ were added in 2010 to describe ties, to reassure Russia of its continuing relevance for India in the wake of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal. For Modi, this is the eighth straight summit with Putin. Both leaders realise that given the nature of bureaucratic structures on both sides, their annual meeting is vital for troubleshooting problems and generating fresh thinking. With the gap of three years, several crucial issues have piled up on the high table.
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