India–Russia Relations: Key Outcomes of RELOS Agreement and PM Modi–Putin Bilateral Meeting

India-Russia Relations 2025: President Vladimir Putin of Russia is on a 2-day state visit to India. This visit coincided with the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit which is supposed to be held on 04-05 December 2025. Amidst the changing global geopolitics and the sanctions imposed on Russia by the US, tariff pressures on India, and the global energy volatility, this visit is turning fruitful. India and Russia have signed the RELOS (Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics) Agreement in the sector of defence cooperation. 

Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics (RELOS) Agreement 2025

As per the Indian Defence Research Wing, The India-Russia defence partnership entered a transformative new phase after Russia ratified the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Support (RELOS) agreement. This landmark pact provides unprecedented mutual access to military facilities, ports, fuel, spares, and logistics infrastructure-significantly boosting the operational reach of both nations and deepening their long-standing strategic cooperation.

The RELOS agreement enables India and Russia to support in:

• Naval, 

• Air, and 

• Ground deployments across vast geographies. 

With this agreement coming into picture and having access to logistics nodes, refueling points, and repair hubs, both countries' militaries can operate with far greater endurance and flexibility-from the Indian Ocean Region to the Arctic and Far East.

How the RELOS Agreement Impact India & Russia

• Expansion of Naval and Military Outreach: RELOS opens the gateway for India to use Russian naval facilities in the Arctic and northern Pacific. This will boost India’s ability to operate in colder, distant waters, beyond the Indian Ocean.

• Access to Indian Ocean for Russia: Russia will get access to the Indian bases in the Indian Ocean (warm-waters) which will increase its power projects capacity.

• Flexible Military Cooperation: The RELOS Agreement not only covers the wartime but also caters to the joint exercises, training, humanitarian missions, and other operations.

• Geopolitical Significance in Changing Global Order: When the global order is changing, the alliances are shifting, tensions hovering over Russia, the RELOS Agreement is a key that underscores India-Russia relations to continue.

In short, RELOS is a major upgrade in bilateral defence architecture, giving both countries greater flexibility, reach and readiness, without committing permanently to overseas bases.

The 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit 2025

During the 23rd India-Russia summit (December 4-5, 2025), India and Russia reaffirmed their strategic partnership and inked several important agreements across energy, trade, logistics, and defence.

Key Point of the Summit:

• Energy & Fuel Security: Russia has committed to India of unlimited fuel supply amidst the global energy crisis.

• Broad-Based Cooperation Agreements: Various agreements were discussed beyond defence such as fertilizers, maritime logistics/shipping, fertiliser trade, food safety, labour mobility, and other sectors. This is to expand the bilateral agenda.

• Trade & Economic Roadmap: Both the countries are aiming to boost their bilateral trade.Bilateral trade already hit a record of USD 68.7 billion in 2024-25.

• Diversification & Export Push: India is planning to increase its exports to Russia in various sectors such as agriculture, marine products, machinery, pharmaceuticals.

What This Means for the Future

India-Russia relations offer important lessons which can be seen in the terms of geopolitics, international relations, strategic cooperation, etc.

1. Strategic Partnerships Evolve: India-Russia have risen beyond their historical ties. The RELOS agreement is an example to demonstrate how bilateral relationships are shaping the course of action in the 21st century.

2. Importance of Diversified Cooperation: India and Russia have diversified their cooperation from just being defence partners to cooperating in the areas of cultural cooperation, economic cooperation, energy cooperation, etc.

3. Strategic Autonomy & Multipolar World: India and Russia have focused on deepening their ties outside of the Western influence and this shows the multipolar world order is changing.

4. Trade Imbalance between India-Russia: The trade imbalance is reflected in the India-Russia relations and as a result, India needs to focus on boosting exports to Russia, which can be handled through economic diplomacy.

5. Defence & Energy Intersect with Geopolitics: Military logistics pacts like RELOS combined with energy agreements highlight how defence, energy security, and geopolitics are increasingly interconnected.

The ratification of the RELOS agreement and the 2025 summit between India and Russia signal a deepening and broadening of their partnership. What began decades ago as a defence-heavy relationship is now evolving into a multifaceted alliance covering energy, trade, logistics, and strategic cooperation, adapting to changing global realities.