5 important countries for Russia’s sanctions-skirting economy

Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains close ties with top leaders from two of his closes trading partners: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin may be heavily sanctioned and running a country that faces sweeping trade restrictions, but he still has friends.

Russia’s friends — or frenemies — aren’t all pariah states or US rivals. Some of them, like India and Vietnam, have good relations with the West, too.

“Putin is eyeing strategic swing nations like India, which opposes China and trades with Russia,” Sean McFate, a military strategist and author of “The New Rules of War,” told B-17 in September.

Moscow is also trying to emerge from diplomatic isolation, looking to forge strategic relationships beyond autocratic partners like China, North Korea, and Iran, he said.

Still, among the nations Putin has been cozying up to, some are more important to Russia because they keep trade humming.

These are five key countries for Russia’s sanctions-skirting economy:

1 China

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have both called each other “dear friends.” 

It’s no secret that China and Russia have a special relationship.

Not only did Beijing and Moscow declare their “no limits” friendship in a joint statement on February 4, 2022, when Putin visited China for the Beijing Winter Olympics, but the Russian leader wasted no time buttering up China after his election victory in March this year.

China was the first country Putin visited after he was inaugurated for his fifth term as president.

As authoritarian regimes, Russia and China have close historical and political roots. Beijing’s rivalry with the US and the West also plays right into Russia’s script.

China has consistently ranked as one of Russia’s most important trading partners since the mid-2000s.

Last year, China’s trade with Russia jumped 26%, to a record $240 billion.

2. India

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin shows India is not afraid to pave its own path in international diplomacy.

While China’s ties with Russia are based on their antagonistic relationships with the West, Moscow’s relationship with India is more nuanced.

New Delhi has been getting closer to the US in recent years. The world’s largest democracy, India is a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a security pact that includes the US, Japan, and Australia.

It’s also a top supply chain hotspot alternative to China.

At the same time, India has become one of Russia’s top trading partners after Moscow pivoted most trade away from Europe, following sweeping sanctions.

Russia’s relationship with India goes back to the Cold War, and trade between the two countries has grown since Russia started the war in Ukraine. India is a major buyer of Russian oil and Russia is India’s biggest arms supplier.

In June, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russia and met Putin, showing New Delhi isn’t afraid to forge its own path in diplomacy.

3. Brazil

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and Russian President Vladimir Putin both want a multipolar world order.

Russia and Brazil have what each other needs, making for a mutually beneficial relationship.

Russia exports oil and fertilizers to Brazil and Brazil exports agriculture products — including soybeans, coffee, and meat — to Russia.

In 2023, bilateral trade between Russia and Brazil reached $8.4 billion, off a record high of nearly $10 billion in 2022.

In recent years, Brazil has become important to Russia as part of the BRICS group, which Putin sees as a counterweight to the West-led world order.

Like Putin, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backs a multipolar world and has championed an alternative to the almighty US dollar in global trade and payments.

“Every night I ask myself why all countries have to base their trade on the dollar,” the Brazilian leader said in April 2023.

4. Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took up Russian President Vladimir Putin’s offer to create a “natural gas hub” together even though Turkey is a NATO member.

Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are both longtime strongmen leaders.

Russia is one of Turkey’s top trading partners, so there are compelling reasons why Ankara would want to deepen ties with Russia.

Just half a year into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Erdogan took up Putin’s offer to create a “natural gas hub” as Europe weaned itself off natural gas imports from Russia.

Since the war’s outset, Turkey — a NATO member — has been positioning itself as an intermediary between the West and Moscow, brokering grain export deals between Russia and Ukraine and offering to host peace talks between the two sides.

Turkey has also expressed interest in joining BRICS — which Russia is a member of — and has been given partner country status.

5. Kazakhstan

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed close ties in November even though the Central Asian country is caught between Moscow and the West.

Former Soviet republics, Russia and Kazakhstan are close trade partners and their economic relationship has only deepened amid the Ukraine war.

In 2024, trade turnover between the two countries reached $27 billion — nearly 40% higher than the $19.7 billion in 2019.

Kazakhstan has come under scrutiny for its role as a key hub of goods to and from Russia, including parallel imports. The Kazakhstan government has been cracking down on such deals, but some trade persists.

In August, Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister and its minister of trade and integration, told Bloomberg that some sanctions against Russia have affected the central Asian country’s economy.

Kazakhstan “won’t blindly follow the sanctions” if it means major local companies are affected, Zhumangarin said.