When Vladimir Putin last set foot in India almost exactly four years ago, the world order looked materially different. That visit – lasting just five hours due to the covid pandemic – saw Putin and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi discuss economic and military cooperation and reaffirm their special relationship.

Three months later, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine would turn him into a global pariah, isolating Russia from the world and restricting Putin’s international travel.

The last visit was also several years before Donald Trump was re-elected and upended years of closely nurtured US-India relations with inflammatory rhetoric and some of the world’s most punishing import tariffs , throwing Delhi into a tailspin. The Ukraine peace deal has stumbled yet again over an

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