Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “reasonable & wise leader, who defends India’s national interests” and declared that he “knows” that Modi would not do anything that would degrade Indians.
Earlier this week, Putin made statements indicating that he might visit India in December.
In his remarks, the Russian president criticized the Trump administration for pressuring China and India to reduce their energy imports from Russia. However, he did not name his American counterpart, Donald Trump, who imposed tariffs on India for buying Russian oil earlier this year.
“Honor will never be tolerated by Indians.” PM Modi, who I know, would never act in this manner. China and India, he said, “aspire to genuinely create a just world and refuse to take sides.”
He went on to say, “PM Modi is a sensible and prudent leader who protects India’s national interests.”
He added that Moscow and New Delhi have “never had issues” and emphasized the two nations’ “special” and “privileged strategic partnership.”
In the Black Sea resort of Sochi in South Russia, Putin spoke Thursday evening at the international Valdai discussion forum of security and geopolitical experts from 140 countries, including India. He emphasized that Russia and India have a lot of potential for economic cooperation, but he also acknowledged that certain issues must be resolved in order to fully realize these opportunities.
Putin stated, “To unlock our opportunities and potential advantages, we need to solve the whole range of tasks,” citing payment, logistical, and funding constraints as the main issues.
“Crude imports from Russia would balance the losses India suffered from punitive US tariffs, and it would gain prestige as a sovereign nation,” he said.
He went on to say that Russia might purchase more medicines and agricultural goods from India in order to correct the trade imbalance. It is possible to buy more agricultural goods from India. We can take certain actions on our end regarding drugs and medical products,” the Russian president said.
“That’s what it really is,” Putin said, recalling that the announcement of a special strategic privileged relationship between Russia and India will shortly commemorate its 15th anniversary.
