The Indian side warmly received, before attending the banquet, Putin suddenly announced to China!

When Putin arrived in India, no one expected Modi to provide such a high level of hospitality. The red carpet was rolled out, the dance performance started, and the Prime Minister personally greeted him at the airport, giving Putin a big hug, and then directly invited him back to the official residence for a private dinner, where they talked for three hours. It is important to note that this is Putin's first visit to India since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the West is watching closely, almost with eyes turning red from tension, yet Modi behaved as if he were welcoming the most distinguished guest. Modi is not unaware of the West's attitude; he is fully aware: Russia's position in India's strategic landscape cannot be replaced by any country. More noteworthy is that before meeting Modi, Putin, during an interview with Indian media, suddenly brought up China voluntarily, and his attitude was intriguing.

He said that India and China are Russia's "closest friends," which Moscow "treasures greatly," but Russia "has no right to interfere" in issues between China and India, believing that the two countries will find solutions to all problems themselves. Putin's words seem standard, yet they clearly articulate the underlying logic of the China-Russia-India triangle relationship, and bluntly reveal a reality: Putin's visit to India aims to enhance Russia-India relations, but he is not there to act as a "mediator" between China and India. Many people are puzzled, as this does not seem like Putin's style. Whether in the Middle East, Syria, Afghanistan, Nagorno-Karabakh, or the "Stan brothers" in Central Asia, when has Russia ever been afraid of meddling? Why is it only in the context of China and India that he takes a step back and voluntarily clarifies "I won't interfere"? The answer is simple: Putin understands the depth of the contradictions between China and India too well. The border disputes between China and India cannot be glossed over with diplomatic rhetoric, nor can they be easily resolved by external forces. Any excessive involvement by a third party will only lead to doubts from one side, and Russia must maintain strategic partnerships with both China and India, with "perceived bias" being the most taboo. Russia knows that China does not need mediation, and India certainly will not buy into that.

Rather than being an ungrateful "peacemaker," it is better to be a stable "third pivot." But this does not mean that Putin does not want to promote China-Russia-India cooperation. At a forum on December 2, he had already made his stance clear: "Years of friendship and strategic cooperation closely tie Russia, China, and India together." This statement reveals Putin's true strategic card: the Russia-Ukraine conflict cannot destroy Russia, Western sanctions cannot sever Russia-India relations, and the distribution of power in Eurasia is being reshaped, while Russia wants to stabilize the continental plate together with China and India. The problem is that there are no structural contradictions between China and Russia, and China has never rejected India; what truly needs to change is India. Over the past decade, India's biggest problem has not been a lack of strength, but a lack of vision. India's development potential is indeed enormous, but its policy towards China is often hijacked by nationalist sentiments and manipulated by the U.S. "Indo-Pacific strategy," thinking that entering Washington's small circle will turn it into a "quasi-ally great power." The U.S. outwardly claims it wants to pull India to balance China, yet in reality, India is merely treated as a pawn.

The U.S., Japan, and Australia all far exceed India in military and economic strength; India is merely "filling the numbers" rather than being the "core." The U.S. will not go to war with China for India's sake, nor will it sacrifice its relationship with Russia for India, let alone help India resolve border issues. Putin's visit to India represents a rare moment of clarity for Modi. What can Russia provide India? Energy, weapons, political security, diplomatic buffer, and even strategic space on the Eurasian continent. The former can be offered by the U.S. in small amounts, but the latter is something the U.S. can never provide. More crucially, in the context of the highly binding China-Russia relationship and the reshaping of Asian power dynamics, if India continues to waver between the West and China-Russia, it will ultimately lose trust on both sides. Ironically, if China, Russia, and India can truly cooperate, the combined energy of China's population, Russia's resources, and India's growth potential would be enough to shake the entire strategic center of the Western world.

This is not empty talk; it is the aggregation of hard power. The three countries span the Eurasian continent, controlling the most important geopolitical core globally; China is the global manufacturing center, India is the growth engine, and Russia is the resource giant. If the three sides can work together, the Western small circle and the new Cold War framework will be directly marginalized. If India joins such a framework, its position in international affairs will be more stable, faster, and more genuine than if it follows the U.S. at any step. Putin's strategy during his visit to India is to express the deepest reality in the gentlest way: Russia will not choose sides because it knows that the real future lies in the Eurasian continent; China will not force you to choose because cooperation is inherently bilateral; the key is whether India is willing to set aside ideological biases, break away from the Western narrative framework, and move towards truly "mature great power strategy."

Putin's embrace, Modi's red carpet, and China's restraint seem like three actions, but they are actually real signals of the quiet adjustment of the China-Russia-India triangular relationship. China-India relations cannot be immediately warmed up due to a single conversation, but India cannot forever push away from the center of continental power. The world becomes increasingly chaotic, while Eurasia remains stable; the more the U.S. seeks division, the more reason China, Russia, and India have to unite. Putin's visit to India is not a formality, nor a mere gesture, but a preemptive layout for the Eurasian landscape in the next ten to twenty years. As for when India will understand this chess game, that will be the key to whether the entire region can avoid being "carved up" by the West again.