It seemed to go well from what I’ve noticed. It must have because some US media outlets are downplaying or ridiculing the summit as you will read.
Linked below is excerpts from a think tank that seems along the lines of the Valdai Club, though I could be mistaken as it’s a new info source to me-
VIF
President Vladimir Putin’s December 2025 visit to New Delhi was a summit of reaffirmation and incremental recalibration. Set against an unusually stressed global context — Western pressure on partners to limit ties with Moscow, continued uncertainty around global energy and commodity markets, and a rapidly reordering Indo-Pacific strategic landscape — the two leaders concentrated upon the continuity of their privileged partnership and pragmatic agenda building.
A headline outcome was the leaders’ consensus on an economic cooperation programme through 2030 with a concrete trade ambition — to raise bilateral trade toward the $100 billion mark by 2030. That target is significant politically and economically: politically because it frames India–Russia ties as a long-term strategic boost in India’s foreign policy portfolio; economically because it forces both countries to move beyond one-off energy and defence transactions toward structural facilitation — regulatory alignment, easing of non-tariff barriers, banking and payments integration, logistics and investment promotion.
Energy and fuel security emerged as a central and symbolic thread. Putin’s public assurance of “uninterrupted” oil shipments to India was a loud reaffirmation of the supplier-buyer relationship that has deepened since 2022, when discounted Russian crude became a major source for Indian refiners. India’s need for reliable supplies for its refining and petrochemical sectors, and Russia’s imperative to find dependable markets, made energy a natural focal point
Defence cooperation, long the bedrock of the relationship, was explicitly reoriented from simple supplier–client dynamics toward deeper co-development, technology transfer and joint production inside India. The summit’s defence deliverables included intergovernmental agreements and MoUs that prioritize joint R&D, co-manufacturing and greater interoperability in areas such as aerospace, naval systems and ordnance. Importantly, the public language reflected India’s sustained push for “Aatmanirbhar” (self-reliant) defence capability. Of late, Russia has appeared to be willing to shift from being an arms exporter to a partner in India’s defence industrialization,
Nuclear cooperation and civil energy were also prominent. The summit reaffirmed collaborative momentum on existing reactor projects (including continuing work on reactors such as Kudankulam) and discussed potential new projects and fuel-cycle cooperation. Nuclear collaboration is strategically weighty: it binds the two countries through long-term capital-intensive projects, technology flows and regulatory interactions, and provides India with a pathway to expand baseload low-carbon electricity.
Agriculture, fertilizers and food security received renewed emphasis — a pragmatic complement to energy and defence. Given Russia’s fertilizer production and India’s agricultural scale, the summit produced MoUs and joint ventures aimed at securing raw materials and manufacturing capacity for fertilizers, and enhancing cooperation in agri-processing, storage and seed technologies. This is not merely trade facilitation: it is a security of supply for India’s agricultural sector, and for Russia a diversification of industrial partnerships and markets for its commodity exports. The fertilizer and agri-value chain agreements are likely to include joint production lines, technology sharing and trade facilitation measures.
Found the information below particularly interesting;
Connectivity, logistics and an eye on Arctic routes underline the visit’s forward-looking economic agenda. Both sides talked up cooperation in shipping, port connectivity and logistics corridors — including interest in polar corridors and Arctic sea-route facilitation where Russia has strategic advantage. For India, enhanced connectivity and multimodal logistics with Russian Far East ports open new trade pathways to Eurasia and resource-rich regions; for Russia, Indian hub demand strengthens commercial viability of northern maritime initiatives. While operationalizing Arctic supply chains will remain complex and seasonal, the political signalling opens the door for port investments, shipping services and cooperative logistics planning.
Link to Glen Diesen interview where this is also discussed– M. K. Bhadrakumar: Russia & India Rewrite Global Trade
The Diplomat downplays the meeting
Watching the frenzy on Indian television and across the mainstream press, it would seem that every move the prime minister makes is a stroke of genius, inspired by the timeless wisdom of the ancient Indian strategist Chanakya, often described as India’s counterpart to Machiavelli.
From Masterstroke to Modest Gains
In reality, however, the outcomes of the summit were far more modest. Much was expected from the meeting, particularly in terms of strengthening the economic relationship between the two countries. Although bilateral trade has reached a record high of about $69 billion, the structure of this trade remains heavily skewed. India exports only around $5 billion worth of goods to Russia, while importing over $64 billion – primarily crude oil – resulting in a trade deficit exceeding $60 billion.
Lutnick said of the retaliatory tariffs: “It’s all bravado, because you think it feels good to fight with the biggest client in the world.” He said eventually businesses will tell their government “you’ve got to stop this and go make a deal with America.”
Predicting India will come a similar conclusion, Lutnick said in September: “In a month or two months, I think India’s gonna be at the table, and they’re gonna say they’re sorry, and they’re gonna try to make a deal with Donald Trump.”
Three months have passed since Lutnick’s prediction and Modi has not yet apologized.