Why is Indian PM Modi going to Russia?

There is no doubt that India’s unallied position on Ukraine, along with US-led sanctions against Russia, has prompted Moscow to sell oil at cheaper rates to India. Delhi has consistently held an ambivalent position on the Ukraine conflict in calling for “dialogue and diplomacy”.

But this goes to strategy, not cheap oil. To paraphrase Jaishankar, the reason for the time-tested stability in India-Russia ties is to maintain a continental balance in the Eurasian heartland. That is, to balance China. Or to put it another way, don’t go around making new adversaries when there are already two open fronts – China and Pakistan.