5 min readNew DelhiMar 11, 2026 04:41 AM IST
Prof Alexander Alexandrovich Dynkin, President of the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) at the Russian Academy of Sciences, is considered one of Russia’s top experts on economy and international relations. In an interview in Delhi with Shubhajit Roy, Dynkin, 77, talked about the India-Russia ties, the war in Ukraine and its impact on Putin and economy, Moscow’s close ties with China, the US-Russia ties under President Donald Trump and the war in West Asia.
Where do you see India-Russia relationship after President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to India?
After President Putin’s visit, the relations have received a new positive impulse. PM Modi described it as a ‘pole star’ for our two countries. So at the political level, on the chemistry between Mr Putin and Mr Modi, everything is fine. At the same time, we have to think not about the past and present, but have to think about the future. India currently is chair of the BRICS countries, and that puts some responsibility on India — how it would design this year of presidency. We have to develop new areas of relations, not only energy and weaponry, but something else: agriculture, AI, financial services. We have already started cooperation in space exploration. Also we have to substantially increase information flow between societies. In Moscow, we unfortunately don’t have any Indian permanent correspondent, either in TV or daily (newspaper). So Indian society has to consume Associated Press or Reuters output, which produce stylized information products.
The relationship has come under increased pressure after Trump asked India to stop importing oil from Russia. How do you see that impacting India’s ties with Russia?
Mr Trump is a sort of extravaganza person, and his tariff war against the whole world, including India, reminds me sort of like a gun stop (American slang for armed robbery) in the American movies. There was no confirmation from Indian government they accepted this prohibition of the import of Russian energy resources. The recent waiver demonstrates that Americans do understand how important Russian energy resources are for India. I guess this is a positive step, but I am definitely dissatisfied that a third country could impact our bilateral relations.
The Russia-US ties, where do you see it going? Especially in terms of the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine…
There is unpredictability. The recent strikes against Iran are already producing a negative impact on those negotiations, on trilateral conversation regarding the Ukrainian conflict. But I guess Moscow has lost a bit of trust in these negotiators who participated in negotiations with Iran on Thursday and on Saturday morning, they struck Iran. But in general, it’s in the interest of the US to normalize relations with Russia. The important point for both Moscow and Washington is the Non Proliferation regime, because after Venezuela and this Iranian attack, after ending of the START treaty, plenty of countries declared that they are eager to acquire nuclear weapons.
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The Russia-Ukraine war has been going on for four years now. Where do you think it is headed?
Everybody, especially in Europe, is concerned about security guarantees for Ukraine, and nobody is thinking about security guarantees for Russia. And security guarantees for Russia would include the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the remaining part of Donbas, non-membership in NATO, and certain limitations for the strength of the future Ukrainian army.
Russia’s dependence on China and closeness with China has sparked some concern in India. Do you think that’s a fair concern?
No, it’s a completely unfair concern. This is a clear western narrative. Our relations with China are of strategic nature, but it’s pretty far from a military alliance. I label this relation by the formula — never against each other, not always together. Do not forget Russia keeps unquestionable strategic autonomy, sustainable strategic parity with the US. So it’s an overestimation, and this is part of the Western propaganda geared especially towards Indian society.
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Since Russia has strong ties with Iran, how do you see the situation in Iran and the conflict that is playing out?
It’s a very dangerous move, because Iran is not Venezuela. It’s a huge country with strong military and security forces. Every country would reject foreign intervention, and I guess the majority of Iran’s population gathered around the flag. Recently a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian frigate on doorsteps of India. And this unarmed frigate was here for naval drills on India’s invitation. So they violate Indian self-respect in this way.
