Putin praises India’s growth, says Moscow will continue expanding ties with New Delhi

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday described India as a “reliable partner”, reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to expanding ties with New Delhi and said attempts by the United States and other Western countries to pressure India into reducing cooperation with Russia have not produced any results.

Speaking during an interaction with heads of leading global news agencies, including PTI, Putin praised India’s economic performance and independent foreign policy, saying Russia remains committed to broadening its economic engagement with the country.

“India is among the world’s major economies and is currently demonstrating an impressive rate of economic growth,” Putin said, expressing confidence that bilateral trade between the two countries could reach USD 100 billion in the coming years.

The Russian president said Moscow has not witnessed any adverse impact from Western efforts aimed at persuading India to limit its engagement with Russia.

“The US is trying to put pressure on India when it comes to cooperation with Russia on some tracks. But everyone has understood that putting pressure on Narendra Modi (and India) that has the largest population in the world, is detrimental for international relations and for bilateral relations,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter where this pressure comes from,” Putin said, adding, “We don’t see any negative consequences.”

“There are no serious repercussions emanating from the state of affairs. We are developing our ties with India and will continue doing that,” he added.

Putin’s remarks come amid continuing concerns in some Western capitals over the close relationship between India and Russia. The United States has repeatedly urged India to reduce its purchases of Russian crude oil.

Responding to a question from PTI CEO and Editor-in-Chief Vijay Joshi, Putin credited India’s economic growth to the efforts of its government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“India is one of the leading economies of the world that has showed the highest rate of economic growth. This is not something that comes out of the blue. This is result of the hardwork that the government of India has been doing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.

Putin also said India’s growing engagement with the United States does not create problems for Russia and stressed that New Delhi would continue to pursue its own national interests.

“We are glad that India is developing its relations with all countries it thinks important for its national interests,” Putin said when asked whether India’s deep alignment with Washington creates structural friction for Russia.

The Russian leader said Moscow views India as a dependable partner and does not see any negative consequences arising from New Delhi’s relations with other countries.

“India is a great nation and democracy and Russia will continue to expand its relations with it,” he said.

On the conflict in Ukraine, Putin said he remained open to resolving the crisis and suggested that the focus should now be on persuading Kyiv.

He also rejected the idea that European Union countries could serve as mediators in peace negotiations, arguing that the bloc could contribute more effectively by encouraging compromise rather than supplying weapons to Ukraine.

Putin described the Ukraine crisis as a “local” issue and contrasted it with the situation involving Iran, which he called a global issue.

“How can Russia trust people who have been harping about the need to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia for years?” he said.

The Russian president said Russia was prepared to support any decision that could help de-escalate tensions in West Asia.

Putin also questioned the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arguing that his presidential mandate had expired.

“Will they hold elections or not? We should ask these questions,” he said in response to a question.