‘Impossible To Imagine That Modi Could Be Forced To…’: Putin Praises PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he cannot be intimidated or forced to take decisions contrary to India. Putin further said that he is surprised at his tough position on defending the national interests of India.

“I cannot imagine that Modi could be intimidated, intimidated or forced to take any actions, steps and decisions that are contrary to the national interests of India and the Indian people. And there is such pressure, I know. By the way, he and I never even talk about this. I just look at what is happening from the outside, and sometimes, to be honest, I’m even surprised at his tough position on defending the national interests of the Indian state,” the Russian President’s Office quoted Putin as saying at the 14th VTB Investment Forum ‘Russia Calling’.

‘Developing Progressively’: Putin On India-Russia Ties  

Speaking on the Forum ‘Russia Calling’, Putin also highlighted the bilateral relations between India and Russia saying that the relations between two nations have been “developing progressively” in all directions. Putin said the ‘policy’ pursued by PM Modi is the main ‘guarantor’ of relations between the two countries.

On what the two nations could do to accelerate the expansion of bilateral trade, Putin said, “I would like to say that relations between Russia and India are developing progressively in all directions, and the main guarantor of this is the policy pursued by Prime Minister Mr. Modi. He belongs precisely to that cohort of world political figures about whom I spoke without naming names,” as quoted by news agency ANI.

Putin On Trade Turnover Between India And Russia

While addressing the forum, the Russian President noted that the trade turnover between India and Russia was ‘growing’. “Last year it was 35 billion dollars per year, and in the first half of this year it was already 33.5 billion. That is, the growth will be significant. Yes, we all understand that, to a large extent, India receives preferences due to discounts on Russian energy resources. Well, he’s actually doing the right thing,” Putin said, as quoted by ANI.

“If I were them, I would also do the same if the situation develops this way. They make money, and rightly so. But, of course, this is not enough. We have much more opportunities. In the global ranking of the world’s economies by purchasing power parity and by economic volume, India ranks third in this list and Russia fifth,” he added.

“Let me remind you, China, the United States, India, Japan, Russia. The three largest economies in the world by purchasing power parity. Of course, if our trade turnover with China this year is close to 200 billion, it would be right for us to increase it with India,” the Russian President noted further.

Putin said that he would discuss the North-South Corridor with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. He further stated that India is interested in implementing routes of this kind, according to the Russian President’s Office. He emphasised that the Northern Sea Route needs to be developed, calling it a “very promising direction in the field of logistics.”