Putin Backs India, Says Pressure on PM Modi Over Russia Ties Is ‘Useless’
Putin Backs India's Russia Ties. (Image courtesy: Wikimedia)
New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed India’s foreign policy stance, saying attempts by the United States to pressure prime minister Narendra Modi over India’s ties with Russia would be harmful and ineffective.
Putin made the remarks during a meeting with heads of leading global news agencies in St Petersburg on Thursday, where he described India as a reliable partner and stressed that Russia does not view New Delhi’s growing ties with other countries, including the US, as a threat to bilateral relations. Reuters reported.
“It is useless to pressure Prime Minister Modi,” Putin said.
Putin appeared to be referring to increasing pressure from US president Donald Trump over India’s continued purchases of Russian crude oil. He said Washington was trying to influence India’s decisions regarding cooperation with Russia but argued that such efforts would only damage international and bilateral relations.
“The US is trying to put pressure on India in some matters, for example, when it comes to cooperation with Russia on some tracks,” Putin said.
He added that the international community had come to recognise that pressuring India was counterproductive. “Everyone has understood that putting pressure on Narendra Modi, who leads the country with the largest population in the world, is detrimental for international relations and for bilateral relations,” he said.
Despite India’s expanding strategic partnership with the United States, Putin said Russia remained confident about the future of ties with New Delhi.
Putin expressed optimism about economic cooperation between the two countries, saying bilateral trade could reach $100 billion in the coming years. He described India as a major democracy that consistently acts in pursuit of its national interests.
Putin says China, Pakistan ties won’t affect India relations
Putin also dismissed claims that Russia’s ties with China and Pakistan could affect its relationship with India, stressing that Moscow maintains strong cooperation with New Delhi across strategic sectors.
“We don’t have any issues in cooperation with either India or China,” Putin said.
Highlighting defence cooperation, the russian president pointed to the joint development of the BrahMos missile system and said Moscow remains open to deeper collaboration with India on advanced military technologies.
Putin revealed that Russia had earlier proposed joint work with India on the Su-57 fifth-generation fighter jet programme. “As far as Su-57 goes, we proposed our Indian friends to work together on this technology… but our Indian friends said you should do it on your own, and maybe we will join,” he said.
He added that Russia remains ready to cooperate with India on the aircraft’s development and supply. “We are ready to work with India in this field to supply this aircraft and to keep developing it. We don’t have any issues,” Putin said, adding that the same applied to cooperation on air defence systems.
