Ahead of his upcoming visit to India in December, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke at great length about his country’s ties with India, while showering Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with praises. In the same breath, he also took a swing at US President Donald Trump’s punitive tariff impositions over trade between Russia and its global partners, including New Delhi and China.
While speaking at the forum of Russian experts, Valdai Discussion Club, on Thursday, Putin addressed a bunch of issues. One of those included clarifying Russia-India trade relations and his dynamic with PM Modi.
Putin on Russia-India’s ‘special’ relationship
He insisted that Moscow’s relationship with India has been of “special” nature since the Soviet Union and the days when India fought for its independence. “In India, they remember this, they know it, and they value it. We appreciate that India has not forgotten it,” Putin originally spoke in Russian, while acknowledging that the ties between both countries were always developing.
“We have never had any problems or interstate tensions with India. Never,” the Russian leader said during the forum, as per PTI’s translation. He then went on to praise Prime Minister Modi as a “balanced, wise,” and “nationally oriented” leader of India, while affirming that they are good friends.
What Putin said on Trump’s tariffs on India over Russia trade
Directly taking on the question of US tariffs on India over the South Asian country’s Russian oil imports, he said, “Everyone in India knows this well… The losses faced by India due to punitive US tariffs would be balanced by crude imports from Russia, plus it will gain prestige as a sovereign nation.”
The Russian leader also indicated that his country may import more agricultural product and medicine from India to get rid of any arising trade imbalances in the face of US tariffs
Further noting that Russia and India always stay coordinated, as he firmly stated, “…the people of a country like India, believe me, will closely monitor the decisions made by the political leadership and will never allow any humiliation in front of anyone,” according to Reuters’ translation. “And then, I know Prime Minister Modi; he himself would never take any steps of this kind,” he said of India potentially considering halting its trade with Moscow.
Russian president hopeful about India visit in December
At another point during his address, he positively spoke about his forthcoming India visit, saying that he was looking forward to it, just as much as he was anticipating meeting his “friend” and “reliable partner” PM Modi.
Diving deeper into Russia’s “special” relationship with India, Putin even opened up about his country’s love for Indian movies, saying it was the only nation other than India itself to have a separate channel that streams films from the South Asian country day and night, according to a video translation shared by Sputnik India.
As also established by Putin’s comments at the Valdai Discussion Club, the Russian leader is now confirmed to travel to India early December for the 23rd annual summit India-Russia summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.