PM Modi cannot be forced to take actions contrary to Indian interests: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he cannot be intimidated or forced to take decisions that are contrary to national interests He also spoke favourably of PM Modis tough posturing and stance when it comes to defending the national interestsI cannot imagine that Modi could be intimidated intimidated or forced to take any actions steps and decisions that are contrary to the national interests of India and the Indian people And there is such pressure I know By the way he and I never even talk about this I just look at what is happening from the outside and sometimes to be honest Im even surprised at his tough position on defending the national interests of the Indian state the Russian Presidents Office quoted Putin as saying at the 14th VTB Investment Forum Russia CallingAlso underlining the bilateral ties between India and Russia Putin said the relations between the two nations have been developing progressively in all directions Addressing the forum the Russian President said the policy pursued by PM Modi is the main guarantor of relations between the two countriesOn what the two nations could do to accelerate the expansion of bilateral trade Putin said I would like to say that relations between Russia and India are developing progressively in all directions and the main guarantor of this is the policy pursued by Prime Minister Mr Modi He belongs precisely to that cohort of world political figures about whom I spoke without naming namesNoting that the trade turnover between India and Russia was growing the Russian President added Last year it was 35 billion dollars per year and in the first half of this year it was already 335 billion That is the growth will be significant Yes we all understand that to a large extent India receives preferences due to discounts on Russian energy resources Well hes actually doing the right thingIf I were them I would also do the same if the situation develops this way They make money and rightly so But of course this is not enough We have much more opportunities In the global ranking of the worlds economies by purchasing power parity and by economic volume India ranks third in this list and Russia fifth he addedLet me remind you China the United States India Japan Russia The three largest economies in the world by purchasing power parity Of course if our trade turnover with China this year is close to 200 billion it would be right for us to increase it with India the Russian President noted furtherStating that he would discuss the NorthSouth Corridor with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Putin added that India is interested in implementing routes of this kind according to the Russian Presidents Office He stressed that the Northern Sea Route needs to be developed calling it a very promising direction in the field of logisticsThe Russian President also underscored the need to develop the financial infrastructure and use more national currencies in mutual settlements He called for paying more attention to investments and investment flowsIt is not the first time that a Russian leader has praised Indias foreign policy Earlier in November Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cited the statement of External Affairs Minister S Jaishanakar while elaborating on the change in global structure and multipolarity due to the rise of players like Global South and Global EastHe quoted Jaishankars remarks that the world is much more than Europe and the world is much more than the West Lavrov made the remarks while speaking at the Primakov Readings International Forum in MoscowThe key difference of the current edition of multipolarity is the chance to acquire genuinely global proportions relying on the fundamental principle of the UN Charter the sovereign equality of states Previously decisions of global importance were driven by a small group of countries with the predominant voice coming from the Western community for obvious reasons the Russian Foreign Ministry quoted Lavrov as saying at the eventEAM Jaishankar while defending Indias position to buy Russian oil amid the conflict in Ukraine had made a similar statement Europe has to grow out of the mindset that Europes problems are the worlds problems but the worlds problems are not Europes problems Jaishankar had saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever