India joins Belarus-Russia conflict video games amid commerce tensions with US | Army News

Indian troops have participated within the Russian-led Zapad-2025 navy drills, Russian state company TASS stated on Tuesday, highlighting Moscow’s shut ties with New Delhi, whose rising ties with the United States have been strained by the imposition of hefty tariffs by President Donald Trump.

The Indian Ministry of Defence confirmed that it had despatched 65 armed forces personnel to take part within the five-day navy train, a theatrical demonstration of firepower performed collectively by Russia and Belarus to check their fight readiness within the occasion of an invasion.

The manoeuvres, which featured 100,000 troops in a show of may that included nuclear-capable bombers and warships, occurred at a time of heightened rigidity with NATO international locations, coming simply days after the downing of Russian drones in Poland final week.

“Today we are conducting the final part of the Zapad 2025 strategic exercise,” stated Putin, carrying a navy uniform.

India was not the one international energy concerned, with “task forces and military contingents” from Iran, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mali additionally becoming a member of in, TASS reported, citing the Kremlin.

But India’s participation, led by a battalion of the extremely revered Kumaon Regiment and geared toward strengthening “the spirit of cooperation and mutual trust” with Russia, could have raised eyebrows amid indicators that the US could also be shedding a key ally in Asia, seen as an vital counterweight to China.

Strains emerged between the 2 international locations final month after the Trump administration imposed 50 p.c tariffs on Indian imports, accusing New Delhi of fuelling Moscow’s lethal assaults on Ukraine with its purchases of Russian oil.

Earlier this month, Trump appeared to substantiate the rift, posting on social media that each India and Russia appeared to have been “lost” to “deepest, darkest China” because the three international locations cozied up on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin.

India-US ties again on monitor?

But final week, Trump introduced on X that India and the US are persevering with negotiations to handle commerce obstacles between the 2 nations. He beforehand accused India of imposing excessive tariffs on US items.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to Trump’s submit on X, saying: “India and the US are close friends and natural partners”.

“I am confident that our trade negotiations will pave the way for unlocking the limitless potential of the India-US partnership,” Modi added.

On Tuesday, Modi thanked Trump for wishing him a contented seventy fifth birthday.

“Thank you, my friend, President Trump, for your phone call and warm greetings on my 75th birthday. Like you, I am also fully committed to taking the India-US Comprehensive and Global Partnership to new heights,” he posted on X.

This shouldn’t be the primary time that India has participated in Russian navy workout routines. In 2021, shortly earlier than Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, New Delhi stated it despatched an unspecified variety of troops to Russia’s Volgograd area to affix actions linked to “Counter Terrorism and Conventional operations”.

India’s ties with Russia return to the erstwhile USSR, which offered in depth assist to the Indian financial system. Throughout the Cold War, India selected to stay non-aligned, but it surely sourced most of its weapons from the Soviet Union.

New Delhi nonetheless buys most of its defence gear from Moscow, however over the previous twenty years, it has tried to diversify its weapons imports.

Iran-Russia proceed strategic alignment

Iran additionally participated on this yr’s Zapad, in accordance with the TASS, although the presence of its troops was not confirmed by official channels.

Tehran is understood to be a detailed strategic associate of Russia, supplying it with self-detonating Shahed drones used within the Ukraine conflict and, in accordance with Western intelligence sources, ballistic missiles.

This yr, the 2 international locations signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty”, deepening their relationship on navy and different fronts.

Tehran and Moscow launched a joint navy drill within the Caspian Sea after Israel launched bombings of Iran, resulting in 12 days of war. The US additionally joined the conflict after focusing on an Iranian nuclear web site with bunker buster bombs.

On Tuesday, the US confirmed that its navy officers noticed the navy drills the day past after accepting an invite to the occasion.

The US presence on the sidelines comes because it tries to wrestle Russia into bringing its conflict in Ukraine to an finish, whereas searching for nearer ties with Belarus.