Indian Official in Moscow to discuss Afghanistan, Trump’s Threats

DID Press: Indian NSA Ajit Doval arrived in Moscow to hold talks with senior Russian officials on security and defense cooperation, oil sanctions, and the upcoming Putin–Modi summit.

Doval’s trip comes at a time when US president Donald Trump announced that, due to India’s purchase of Russian oil, heavier tariffs will be imposed on Indian goods.

Securing Russian oil, defense cooperation, and the situation in the Russia–Ukraine war are among the main topics of his meetings.

Doval is also expected to hold consultations on the delivery of the remaining S‑400 defense systems — a system that played a decisive role in the “Sindoor” operation between India and Pakistan in May of this year.

Another sensitive point in this visit is Russia’s recent decision to recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan — an issue that has raised regional concerns and will likely come up.

As part of ongoing diplomatic engagement between New Delhi and Moscow, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar is also scheduled to visit Russia by the end of this month to pave the way for the annual meeting between Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi.

These moves come as  the U.S. envoy for Middle East affairs Steve Witkoff has also traveled to Moscow to discuss Ukraine with President Putin.