Trust-Based, Brotherly Relations: Putin on India-Russia Ties
Putin also highlighted the long-standing military and technical cooperation between the two countries.
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the strong India-Russia relationship, saying that India and Russia share a "brotherly" and "trust-based" relationship in all senses of the word. He also lauded the talent and competencies of Indians, particularly in coding and technology.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday, Putin said, "We have had very good, trust-based, brotherly relations in all senses of the word. We know how talented the Indian people are, how well educated. Indians have great competencies, which have achieved world renown, especially in coding and in other fields."
Referring to the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, he added, "Prime Minister Modi had to introduce certain restrictions here, asking people not to use personal cars, not to travel long distances, due to what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz. I think our companies did the right thing and the Indian counterparts did the right thing when they decided to embark on this path of close cooperation, because right now we are trying to lend a helping hand and give our shoulder, increasing supplies to the Indian market and to Asia in general, and we certainly keep sharing our technological solutions."
Putin further said that Russia always stands true to commitments given to its partners.
"Our cooperation with India, just like with all other partners of ours, is not subject to the political environment. We can't be dictated to not deliver that to India. Nobody can dictate to us and nobody would even try to do that. We will always stand true to commitments given to our partners, especially partners like India," he said.
Putin also highlighted the long-standing military and technical cooperation between the two countries.
"India and we have a very good, long-standing relationship in terms of military and technical cooperation. A significant portion of the armed forces of India is equipped with Russian equipment. This is a tradition that dates back to the Soviet times. Our relations with the Indian friends are specific, thanks to our mutual trust."
He noted that the partnership goes beyond trade and includes joint research and development.
"We concentrate not just on trade, buying and selling, but also on joint research and development. Indian and Russian experts have been working on the design of the mid-range missile BrahMos. India has traditionally been purchasing aircraft from us," Putin said.
Speaking on India's foreign policy, Putin said the country acts as a sovereign nation and makes decisions based on its national interests.
"India always acts as a sovereign country and under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, any potential threats of sanctions would boomerang immediately. We have been in close talks with Prime Minister Modi for a long while. All the sanctions have been eliminated and the relationship between the USA and India is developing successfully, as I understand."
"India is free to choose the products that they consider to be most up to date, most applicable for them and obviously offering the best price-quality ratio. India is always guided by its national interests," he added.
