India joins Belarus-Russia war games amid trade tensions with US

Indian troops person participated successful the Russian-led Zapad-2025 subject drills, Russian authorities bureau TASS said connected Tuesday, highlighting Moscow’s adjacent ties with New Delhi, whose increasing ties with the United States person been strained by the imposition of hefty tariffs by President Donald Trump.

The Indian Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had sent 65 equipped forces unit to enactment successful the five-day subject exercise, a theatrical objection of firepower conducted jointly by Russia and Belarus to trial their combat readiness successful the lawsuit of an invasion.

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The manoeuvres, which featured 100,000 troops successful a show of mightiness that included nuclear-capable bombers and warships, took spot astatine a clip of heightened hostility with NATO countries, coming conscionable days aft the downing of Russian drones successful Poland past week.

“Today we are conducting the last portion of the Zapad 2025 strategical exercise,” said Putin, wearing a subject uniform.

India was not the lone overseas powerfulness involved, with “task forces and subject contingents” from Iran, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mali besides joining in, TASS reported, citing the Kremlin.

But India’s participation, led by a battalion of the highly respected Kumaon Regiment and aimed astatine strengthening “the tone of practice and communal trust” with Russia, volition person raised eyebrows amid signs that the US whitethorn beryllium losing a cardinal state successful Asia, seen arsenic an important counterweight to China.

Strains emerged betwixt the 2 countries past period aft the Trump medication imposed 50 percent tariffs connected Indian imports, accusing New Delhi of fuelling Moscow’s deadly attacks connected Ukraine with its purchases of Russian oil.

Earlier this month, Trump seemed to corroborate the rift, posting connected societal media that some India and Russia appeared to person been “lost” to “deepest, darkest China” arsenic the 3 countries cozied up astatine the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) acme successful Tianjin.

India-US ties backmost connected track?

But past week, Trump announced connected X that India and the US are continuing negotiations to code commercialized barriers betwixt the 2 nations. He antecedently accused India of imposing precocious tariffs connected US goods.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to Trump’s station connected X, saying: “India and the US are adjacent friends and earthy partners”.

“I americium assured that our commercialized negotiations volition pave the mode for unlocking the limitless imaginable of the India-US partnership,” Modi added.

On Tuesday, Modi thanked Trump for wishing him a blessed 75th birthday.

“Thank you, my friend, President Trump, for your telephone telephone and lukewarm greetings connected my 75th birthday. Like you, I americium besides afloat committed to taking the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership to caller heights,” helium posted connected X.

This is not the archetypal clip that India has participated successful Russian subject exercises. In 2021, soon earlier Russia’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine, New Delhi said it sent an unspecified fig of troops to Russia’s Volgograd portion to articulation activities linked to “Counter Terrorism and Conventional operations”.

India’s ties with Russia spell backmost to the erstwhile USSR, which provided extended assistance to the Indian economy. Throughout the Cold War, India chose to stay non-aligned, but it sourced astir of its weapons from the Soviet Union.

New Delhi inactive buys astir of its defence instrumentality from Moscow, but implicit the past 2 decades, it has attempted to diversify its weapons imports.

Iran-Russia proceed strategical alignment

Iran besides participated successful this year’s Zapad, according to the TASS, though the beingness of its troops was not confirmed by authoritative channels.

Tehran is known to beryllium a adjacent strategical spouse of Russia, supplying it with self-detonating Shahed drones utilized successful the Ukraine warfare and, according to Western quality sources, ballistic missiles.

This year, the 2 countries signed a “comprehensive strategical concern treaty”, deepening their narration connected subject and different fronts.

Tehran and Moscow launched a associated subject drill successful the Caspian Sea aft Israel launched bombings of Iran, starring to 12 days of war. The US besides joined the warfare aft targeting an Iranian atomic tract with bunker buster bombs.

On Tuesday, the US confirmed that its subject officials observed the subject drills the erstwhile time aft accepting an invitation to the event.

The US beingness connected the sidelines comes arsenic it tries to wrestle Russia into bringing its warfare successful Ukraine to an end, portion seeking person ties with Belarus.