Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has observed a growing inclination among Russia, India, and China (RIC) to collaborate on matters of shared interest. This statement follows closely on the heels of a display of camaraderie between the leaders of the three nations at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in Tianjin the previous week. The highly publicized triple handshake and huddle involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the SCO summit captured global attention.

The RIC initiative, conceptualized by former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, aimed to establish a robust trilateral framework. Primakov opposed the United States' unipolar dominance in the post-Cold War era. He was also the first top-ranking leader among the P-5 nuclear weapon states to visit India in December 1998, after Pokhran-II in May 1998. While Russia maintains attributes of a great power, such as a large nuclear arsenal and permanent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) membership, its status as a global competitor has significantly diminished in the eyes of US officials. The modern Russian Federation positions itself as a great power that seeks to protect and promote its interests in the international arena, unlike the former Soviet Union, which aimed to cast the world in its own image. In June 2025, Lavrov emphasized the significance and potential of the Special Privileged Strategic Partnership with India and the role played by former Primakov.

The RIC grouping has a history of at least 18 meetings of its Foreign Ministers and three informal leader-level summits, the last of which took place in June 2019 in Saint Petersburg. Together, the group occupies 19% of the global landmass and contributes 33% of global GDP. All three countries are members of the BRICS, SCO and G-20 groupings.

Despite recent bilateral discussions indicating a willingness to reset relations, historical suspicions continue to limit RIC's potential. During the recent meeting in Tianjin, Prime Minister Modi emphasized that India and China are development partners and advocated for increased trade and investment amid global tariff uncertainties. Modi also highlighted India's concern over the growing bilateral trade deficit of $99.2 billion and stressed the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility at the disputed border. India's participation in the RIC is expected to strengthen its policy of multi-alignment and enhance its bargaining power with the United States.

For the RIC to realize its full potential, a successful revitalization would require significant efforts to rebuild mutual trust, respect, and sensitivity between China and India to enable meaningful cooperation on regional and global challenges. China and India must overcome a fundamental trust deficit stemming from unresolved border disputes, strategic rivalries, and competing regional interests.

However, there are some underlying tensions and complexities within the RIC dynamic. Despite being important partners, Russia has expressed concerns about India's growing alignment with the United States. Lavrov has echoed China's criticism of the Indo-Pacific strategy and India's involvement in the Quad. India, on the other hand, is seeking to maintain a balanced approach regarding the war in Ukraine. Unlike Xi, Modi has visited Ukraine and engaged with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. New Delhi is also increasingly concerned about Moscow's growing proximity to and dependence on Beijing. A Russia deeply embedded in China's orbit could be detrimental to India's strategic interests in Eurasia and even to Washington's interests. The growing engagement between Moscow and Islamabad is also a concern for New Delhi.

Despite these challenges, platforms like RIC enable India to compartmentalize disputes while fostering cooperation on areas like supply chains, energy, and climate. Wang Yi's discussions in New Delhi were seen as setting the stage for Modi's participation in the SCO summit in Tianjin, demonstrating how bilateral outreach and multilateral engagement are progressing in tandem. For India, RIC serves as one of many tools to preserve its strategic autonomy.

The RIC bloc could potentially serve as a counterweight to U.S.-led economic blocs, such as the G7, and promote de-dollarization through initiatives like the BRICS payment system. These countries are also among the world's fastest-growing large economies. According to IMF data, India is projected to be the world's fastest-growing large economy in 2025, with a GDP growth rate of 6.5%. China's GDP growth rate is expected to be around 4.8%, and Russia is also projected to grow at a rate of around 1.8%. Collectively, the RIC bloc is expected to surpass the Western bloc in GDP growth.