Putin says Russian-Indian ties ‘progressively developing’ despite global ‘turbulence’

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that his country’s relations with India are “developing progressively” despite “all the turbulence that is happening in the world.”

“Our trade turnover is growing, for the second year in a row and at a steady pace. This year at an even faster rate than last year,” Putin said during a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in the capital Moscow.

He said that Russia and India have exceeded the bilateral trade volume of 2022 in the first nine months of this year, adding that this is made up of energy resources, primarily oil, petroleum products and coal.

He went on to say he would be glad to see Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit Russia, and that they will be able to discuss “all current issues” and “talk about the prospects for the development of Russian-Indian relations.”

Putin said that they know about India’s position on the Russia-Ukraine war and Modi’s desire to “do everything to resolve this problem through peaceful means,” adding that they will talk about this in more detail during their meeting.

For his part, Jaishankar said that he had the chance to talk about bilateral relations with Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov since the start of his visit to Russia on Monday.

“I would also like to place special emphasis on progress in trade: trade turnover today amounts to more than $50 billion. And we believe that these are only the first steps in unlocking our potential. It is very important to make our trade interaction more sustainable; we need to think about how to achieve this,” the Indian minister added.

Jaishankar also said that both countries signed an agreement in the nuclear sphere, which will allow them to further develop the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant project.

He went on to convey that Modi wants to visit Russia in 2024, adding that he is confident they will find a suitable date that will be convenient for both parties.