Who is Maxim Oreshkin? Putin aide to attend AI Summit in Delhi amid Trump's Russian Oil claims

Russian President Vladimir Putin's senior aide, Maxim Oreshkin, will reportedly lead a large Russian delegation to the India AI Impact Summit 2026. India's AI Summit will be held in New Delhi from Monday, February 16 and will run till February 20.

Maxim Oreshkin's career: Born on July 21, 1982, in Moscow, Maxim Oreshkin served as the Chief Economist, Sector Head at the Balance of Payments Department at the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia), as per the Kremlin's website.

He was the Managing Director at Rosbank between 2006–2010, and Head of the Analytical Unit at Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank Russia and the CIS between 2010–2012.

He took charge as the Chief Economist for Russia at VTB Capital in 2012. Later, in 2013, he took over as the Director of the Long-term Strategic Planning Department at the Russian Ministry of Finance.

Govt positions: Maxim Oreshkin served as the Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation in 2015–2016.

He was appointed Minister of Economic Development in 2016.

He also held the post of Presidential Special Representative for Trade and Economic Cooperation with Japan.

He was appointed the Chairman of the Board, at the Centre for Strategic Research in 2018, and aide to President Vladimir Putin in 2020.

He became the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office in 2024.

Maxim Oreshkin's education: He holds a Bachelor’s and a Master's Degree in Economics, as per Kremlin's website.

The India AI Impact Expo 2026 will be held alongside the India AI Impact Summit and is envisioned as a national showcase of artificial intelligence in action, bringing together policy, innovation, and large-scale implementation under one platform.

They said the delegation will focus on secure, trusted, and sovereign AI, with active engagement in discussions on AI governance, technology, and partnerships within BRICS and other platforms.

In an interview to BRICS TV Network on February 9, Russian Foreign Minister Segei Lavrov noted: "India also emphasises ICT security, which we actively support, contributing to the agenda."

"This is significant, as norms regulating AI use between states, and AI applications by individual states, are only now being established."

Meanwhile, in an article published by the state-run news agency TASS on Friday, India's Ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar, outlined the promising prospects for India–Russia cooperation in the field of Artificial Intelligence, highlighting the growing strategic and technological partnership between the two nations.

The long-awaited trade deal between India and the US is yet to be finalised, and the pact has not yet been signed. However, both sides have released an initial framework of the deal.

While Trump claimed that India agreed to stop buying the Russian crude, the Indian government has neither accepted or denied the claim.

In an interactive session alongside German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, External Affairs Jaishankar said oil companies “in India, Europe and other parts of the world, look at availability, look at costs, look at risks and take the decisions they feel are in their best interest.”