Why Doval’s Meeting With Putin Signals BRICS Pushback, Russian Strategy, and a Multipolar Realignment Amid Trump’s Escalating Tariff War
India’s National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday in a high-level diplomatic engagement with far-reaching implications. The meeting took place just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a second round of tariffs on Indian exports and raised the total burden to 50%.
The Kremlin released official footage of the meeting, which showed NSA Doval and President Putin shaking hands, but did not provide public details of their discussions.
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| Image Source: Kremlin |
U.S. President Trump’s latest Executive Order, issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), accused India of continuing to import Russian crude oil, thereby "undermining U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives."
Doval Confirms Putin Visit to India
Speaking in Moscow, Doval has already confirmed that President Putin is expected to visit India later this year, with dates "almost finalised." He described India-Russia relations as “very special, long-standing, and deeply valued,” underscoring that recent high-level engagements have “substantially contributed” to strengthening bilateral ties.
"We are very excited and delighted to learn about the visit of President Putin to India. I think that the dates are almost finalised now," Doval said.
The visit will likely focus on defence, energy, and economic cooperation, all areas under growing strain from U.S. secondary sanctions and tariff measures.
Earlier in the day, Doval also held strategic talks with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu, focused on defence and energy cooperation. His Moscow trip was planned in advance, but the timing, coinciding with Trump’s tariff escalation, is politically significant.
Strategic Context: Trump’s Tariff Blitz and Energy Politics
On August 6, President Trump signed an Executive Order doubling tariffs on Indian goods, citing India’s continued purchase of Russian-origin crude.
The move, which stacks an additional 25% duty on top of an existing 25% announced just days earlier, is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to penalise countries that continue energy trade with Moscow.
India, which imported around 44% of its oil from Russia in Q2 2025, has pushed back strongly.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi has called the U.S. actions “unjustified, unfair and unreasonable,” stating that its energy imports are dictated by market stability and national interest, not geopolitical alliances.
The MEA has also accused Washington of hypocrisy, pointing out that Western countries — including the U.S. — continue to engage in significant trade with Russia, importing liquefied natural gas (LNG), uranium, and machinery.
Russia’s Response and the BRICS Realignment
Moscow, too, has bristled at what it calls “illegitimate economic coercion.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that “sovereign countries have the right to choose their own trading partners,” and criticised attempts to “force countries to sever relations” as contrary to international law.
President Putin’s expected visit to India follows coordinated moves between BRICS nations — particularly India and Brazil — to resist U.S. economic pressure.
Just days ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held a high-level call, reaffirming their joint commitment to economic sovereignty, expanding South-South trade, and resisting “unilateral trade coercion.”
Both countries now face elevated U.S. tariffs, and both have explicitly defended their energy strategies and domestic institutions against Washington’s punitive policies.
Russia, meanwhile, has withdrawn from key arms-control agreements and is repositioning itself more aggressively in the Indo-Pacific, citing threats from U.S. missile deployments.
The BRICS Bloc as Strategic Counterweight?
Analysts increasingly see BRICS, once a loosely aligned economic bloc, transforming into a more coordinated political counterweight to the post-Cold War U.S.-led order.
From Russia’s strategic realignment and India’s diplomatic defiance to Brazil’s refusal to engage with the Trump administration, the group’s internal cohesion appears to be solidifying under pressure.
Ajit Doval’s visit to Moscow, and the announcement of President Putin’s upcoming trip to India, will be seen in that light: as a quiet but clear response to Washington’s effort to redraw global trade boundaries through unilateral force.
In private conversations, Indian officials are reportedly weighing diplomatic and trade responses, including WTO-based challenges, procurement shifts, and possible retaliatory tariffs, though no formal countermeasures have yet been announced.
With BRICS growing closer and U.S. trade measures widening, the geopolitical contest between multipolar ambition and American pressure appears to be entering a new phase in which India’s balancing act must be more strategic than ever.
Indian Prime Minister Modi's government has so far refused to come under exorbitant pressure by Washington's tactics and has carefully given history the dignity it deserves in formulating the future course of India's foreign policy. Showing unyielding trust in Indo-Russian time-tested friendship is an appropriate case in point.