India-Russia strategic ties deepening – Putin

The president has lauded the ‘privileged’ partnership with the South Asian nation

Relations between Moscow and New Delhi are gaining momentum and developing, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday at a meeting with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

In July, the Russian leader met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bilateral talks in which they discussed a wide range of issues, including strengthening cooperation, as well as the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.

Highlighting what he described as a special privileged strategic partnership between the countries, Putin said that “not only was the visit very successful, but also the work developed as a result of it is very meaningful.”

In recent years, India has become one of Russia’s biggest trade partners, as Moscow turned to Asian countries following the imposition of sweeping Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict. India has not supported the sanctions, despite pressure from the West. Putin and Modi set a goal of $100 billion in mutual trade by 2030 during the meeting in Moscow.

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Earlier this year, New Delhi’s envoy to Moscow told RT that bilateral trade between the nations nearly tripled in the past two years, with India ramping up purchases of energy, fertilizer, and coal exports from Russia.

Last month, media reports emerged that the nations are working out a deal for supplies of Russian nuclear fuel and core components for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India. The deal is reportedly valued at $1.2 billion.

New Delhi has maintained close diplomatic ties with Moscow despite intense scrutiny from the West. The Indian government has insisted that peace initiatives to resolve the Ukraine conflict must include both Kiev and Moscow. Earlier this year, an Indian delegation participated in the Swiss-hosted summit which focused solely on Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s ‘peace formula’, but refused to sign the final communique as the talks did not involve Russia.

Doval’s visit to Russia coincided with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar’s trip to Switzerland. Speaking at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, Jaishankar highlighted the need to mediate peace talks by nations that are not seen in one country as representing the interests of the other side.