Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have kicked off a daylong summit in the capital of India, where trade and Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine loom large.

Friday’s summit is Putin’s first visit to India since the start of Russia’s full-fledged war on Ukraine in 2022, and comes as India is seeking a reprieve from punishing United States tariffs related to its purchase of Russian oil.

“India is not neutral — India has a position, and that position is for peace,” Modi told Putin as they opened their talks on Friday.

“We support every effort for peace, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with every initiative taken for peace.”

Putin, in response, thanked Modi for his attention and efforts aimed at resolving the conflict.

“We had the opportunity – and you gave me that opportunity – to speak in detail about what is happening on the Ukrainian track and about the steps we are taking jointly with some other partners, including the United States, toward a possible peaceful settlement of this crisis,” Putin said.

Putin’s visit comes as Moscow hopes to boost ties with India, already the top buyer of Russian arms. Officials have said they want to increase trade with India to $100bn by 2030 – up from an already all-time high of $68bn in 2024.

Friday’s agenda began with a morning visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential palace, for a meeting with India’s ceremonial head of state, Droupadi Murmu. Murmu was joined by Modi in welcoming Putin with an honour guard ceremony.

Putin then travelled to Raj Ghat and placed a wreath at the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the anti-colonial movement that paved the way to Indian independence.

Putin and Modi then proceeded to hold meetings at the Hyderabad House complex. They are scheduled to address the media before a gathering with business and trade leaders.

Al Jazeera’s Neha Poonia, reporting from New Delhi, said Putin’s trip was held with “much fanfare”.

On Thursday, Modi gave Putin a warm welcome, personally greeting him on the tarmac in New Delhi with a hug and a handshake. He later hosted the Russian leader for a private dinner at his residence.

“There were a lot of hugs and handshakes,” Poonia noted. “The focus now is on the bilateral meeting on Friday. Experts say that the two leaders will try to project that the Russian leader is not a pariah, and that countries like India welcome him despite the pressure from Western nations.”

Putin had an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant issued in 2023 for his arrest over the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children during Russia’s war with Ukraine. India is not a member state of the ICC and is not bound by its treaty or rules. Putin was able to travel to India without any fear of arrest.

The Russian leader is set to depart India at 9pm local time (15:30 GMT).

A balancing act

Russia and India have had a strategic partnership for 25 years, stretching back to Putin’s first year in office as the country’s head of state.

However, the balancing act between maintaining ties with both the US and Russia has become more difficult in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian operation disrupted a longstanding tradition of the leaders trading annual visits. That partially resumed last year, when Modi visited Russia.

As Western countries curtailed their reliance on Russian crude oil amid the war, India ramped up its purchases.

But in August, the US doubled the 25 percent tariffs it had previously imposed on Indian goods to 50 percent, as a penalty for India’s Russian oil purchases, as Trump looked to pressure Putin into accepting a ceasefire.

India, however, continued buying Russian oil.

That is now changing: in November, Trump’s sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil went into effect, along with a threat of sanctions against companies from other countries that trade with these firms.

Purchases from the two companies account for about 60 percent of India’s oil imports.

New Delhi has said it was being unfairly targeted, noting that Western nations continue to do business with Moscow when it is in their interests. Speaking to Indian journalists in an interview before he arrived in New Delhi, Putin made a similar argument.

“The United States itself still buys nuclear fuel from us for its own nuclear power plants,” he said.

He added that if the US has the right to buy Russian fuel, India should enjoy “the same privilege”.

Putin is also expected to push India to buy more Russian weapons, another area where New Delhi has faced pressure from Washington.

Moscow has been hoping to sell India additional S-400 missile defence systems and Su-57 stealth fighter jets.

Friday’s meeting comes days after Putin met with a US delegation in Moscow, pushing for an end to the war in Ukraine. Both sides hailed progress after the meeting, but no breakthrough was reached.

On Thursday, US officials met with a Ukrainian delegation.