India and Russia have taken a decisive step toward a deeper militarypartnership with the submission of the Reciprocal Exchange of LogisticsAgreement (RELOS) to the Russian State Duma on 28 November 2025. Signed inMoscow on 18 February 2025 by Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar and then-DeputyDefence Minister Alexander Fomin, the treaty now awaits ratification inboth countries. Once approved, it will formally allow each nation to deploymilitary units on the other’s soil, grant reciprocal access to naval ports,share airspace and airbase facilities, and provide mutual logisticalsupport such as fuel, repairs and supplies. The timing is deliberate: theagreement is being fast-tracked ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s statevisit to New Delhi on 4–5 December 2025 for the 23rd India-Russia AnnualSummit.
For decades, the India-Russia defence relationship has rested on armstransfers and licensed production — from T-90 tanks and Su-30MKI fightersto the BrahMos missile. RELOS marks a qualitative leap from buyer-sellerdynamics to genuine operational interoperability. Unlike earlier ad-hocarrangements for joint exercises such as INDRA or temporary port calls, thenew pact creates a standing, predictable framework. Indian warships will beable to refuel and undertake minor repairs in Vladivostok or even Arcticports like Murmansk; Russian Pacific Fleet vessels will receive similarprivileges in Mumbai, Visakhapatnam or the Andaman Islands. Indian AirForce transports and fighters can stage through Russian bases forlong-range missions, while Russian Il-78 tankers or Il-76 heavylifts canuse Indian facilities for humanitarian or training deployments.
The strategic dividends are asymmetric yet mutually reinforcing. For India,the agreement opens a logistical corridor to the Arctic, where it alreadysources 20 per cent of its LNG from Russia’s Yamal project and seeksgreater scientific and commercial presence. Access to Russian cold-weatherbases will help the Indian Navy and Air Force build polar expertise at atime when melting ice is turning the Northern Sea Route into a contestedtrade artery. For Russia, facing Western naval exclusion from theMediterranean and Atlantic, guaranteed Indian Ocean port access preservesthe Pacific Fleet’s global reach and counters growing Chinese dominance inthe region. Both countries gain resilience against supply-chain shocksexposed by the Ukraine war and Red Sea disruptions.
Critics in Western capitals may view RELOS as another sign of India’srefusal to isolate Moscow, especially after New Delhi continued importingdiscounted Russian crude despite sanctions. Yet the agreement mirrors thelogistics pacts India already maintains with the United States (LEMOA2016), Japan (ACSA 2020), Australia and France — proof that New Delhi’s“multi-alignment” treats Russia as one pillar among several rather than anexclusive alliance. The treaty explicitly limits cooperation to “agreedcases” and excludes automatic combat obligations, preserving India’sstrategic autonomy.
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When ratified — expected by mid-2026 — RELOS will cement the India-Russiapartnership for the next decade. It arrives at a moment when both nationsare recalibrating their global postures: Russia seeking partners beyondChina, India determined to remain a pole in its own right. Far from a relicof Cold War nostalgia, the agreement signals a modern, pragmatic andlogistics-driven “special and privileged strategic partnership” ready forthe challenges of a multipolar century.