India pursuing independent, sovereign policy under PM Modi: Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week, reaffirming the “strong and time-tested” nature of relations between Moscow and New Delhi, ANI reported citing the official website of the Kremlin.

During a meeting with members of the Russian Government, Putin disclosed details of the exchange and underlined the stability of Russian-Indian relations, describing them as “based on a national consensus.” He also commended India’s governance and economic growth under Modi’s leadership.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India is pursuing a completely independent, sovereign policy and, most importantly, is achieving very good results in the economic sphere. India is demonstrating the highest economic growth rates among the world’s major economies,” Putin said.

According to TV BRICS, the call followed a congratulatory telegram sent by Putin on Modi’s 75th birthday. In his message, the Russian President highlighted the Indian leader’s role in bilateral ties. “You [Narendra Modi] are making a great personal contribution to strengthening the special privileged strategic partnership between our countries and developing mutually beneficial Russian-Indian cooperation in various areas,” he noted.