Putin to visit India soon: Russian FM

At a time when India’s close relations with the US are marked by trade uncertainties, Jaishankar, in his address at the conference on Thursday, also expressed New Delhi’s “commitment to nurture” and further strengthen ties with time-tested friend Russia and said both nations are “committed to each other’s core interests” as part of a “shared foreign policy priority”. Speaking in virtual mode, Jaishankar said that the “special privileged strategic partnership” with Russia “continues to deepen and expand” and that the two nations have an “exceptional ability to adapt and find new opportunities for mutual benefit”. The EAM pointed out that while cooperation in energy (oil and gas), defence and civil nuclear energy have been the traditional areas of India-Russia cooperation, there are new emerging areas of cooperation such as trade, technology, agriculture, pharma, connectivity and the digital sector. He also said both countries have an objective of reaching bilateral trade worth $100 billion by 2030. He added that the two nations are also strengthening cooperation in groupings and multilateral fora such as Brics, SCO, G-20 and the UN.

It may also be noted that President Putin had last visited New Delhi more than three years ago in December 2021, just two months before the start of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. Earlier this month, foreign secretary Vikram Misri had visited Moscow and had held bilateral consultations with Russian deputy foreign minister Andrey Rudenko there, during which "the two sides reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties and also shared perspectives on regional and global issues of mutual interest”. The visit was seen as a preparatory one ahead of the President Putin’s visit to New Delhi this year.
Addressing the conference, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said: “In accordance with the Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation, strengthening the special privileged strategic partnership with India is one of the priorities of our country's foreign policy… The relations between our countries have a long history. We can say that they have stood the test of time more than once. Today, Russia and India are developing equal cooperation based on sincere, mutual respect and consideration of each other's interests.”

Lavrov further said: “It is symbolic that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first bilateral foreign visit after his re-election last year to Russia. Now it is our turn. Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the invitation of the head of the Indian government. The visit of the head of the Russian state to the Republic of India is being prepared. Our relations have a solid material base. Trade and economic cooperation is steadily expanding. We are successfully overcoming the attempts of individual ill-wishers to prevent this. In 2024, bilateral trade exceeded $60 billion. This is the highest result in the entire modern history of relations.”

Lavrov added: “Political dialogue is developing dynamically. This is facilitated by the fact that Moscow and New Delhi have close or even coinciding views on the objectively emerging multipolar world order, which, in our common conviction, should be based on a variety of development models and compliance by all states with the principles of the UN Charter not selectively, but in their entirety and interrelation. Together with our Indian partners, we advocate for the democratization of international relations, for an increased role of the Global South in economic governance mechanisms, respect for the cultural and civilizational identity of all peoples of the world, and their right to independently determine their own development paths. We share the philosophy of the Indian foreign policy concept "The whole world is a family", aimed at ensuring international cooperation for the benefit of all mankind based on a balance of interests of all states. We value our joint work in the UN, G-20, Brics, SCO and other multilateral platforms.”