Image Source: Agencies

Aug 7, 2025: National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval arrived in Russia on Wednesday for an annual meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. Additionally, it is planned for him to call Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to sources, the visit was part of a planned annual engagement that was originally scheduled for two weeks ago. It is being seen as a precursor to the annual India-Russia leaders’ summit, which India is set to host later this year.

For the summit, Putin is expected to visit India and meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A source clarified, "It is not a response to US pressure related to tariffs or penalties for buying Russian crude oil." In the meantime, Vinay Kumar, the Indian Ambassador to Russia, was met in Moscow by Colonel General Alexander Fomin, the Russian Deputy Defense Minister. The Russian Ministry of Defense emphasized that the two countries' strong defense ties will continue. “The two sides confirmed their focus on further strengthening specialized cooperation within the framework of a particularly privileged strategic partnership,” it stated in describing the meeting. “They discussed key issues of bilateral defence cooperation,” the ministry added.

Doval is likely to bring up questions about where to get crude oil in the future, upcoming defense supplies, like the remaining S-400 missile systems and upgrading Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets. Russia has assured delivery of the remaining two S-400 air defence systems by 2026.

This is Doval’s first visit to Moscow since Operation Sindoor. However, he had met Aleksandr Venediktov, Shoigu's deputy and Deputy Secretary of Russia's Security Council, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's NSA-level meeting in Beijing in June.