An upcoming meeting between India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia's President Vladimir Putin underscores New Delhi's efforts to maintain balanced relations with Moscow, paving the way for renewed India-Russia summits and the finalization of a major defense deal. Modi is scheduled to visit Moscow, Russia, on July 8-9 for discussions with Putin. This visit marks Modi's first trip to the Russian capital since 2015 and his first to Russia since the invasion of Ukraine (he visited Vladivostok in September 2019 for the Eastern Economic Forum). Additionally, this visit follows Putin's fifth consecutive swearing-in as president of Russia in May, as well as confirmation of Modi's third straight term as India's prime minister in June. Russia and India have held annual summits since 2000 when they signed the Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership, which established their highest institutionalized dialogue mechanism.