PM Modi Congratulates Putin On Reelection, Vows to Expand India-Russia Ties 'In Years to Come'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Vladimir Putin on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation and agreed to work together to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries.

“Spoke with President Putin and congratulated him on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation. We agreed to work together to further deepen and expand the India-Russia Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership in the years ahead,” Modi said in a post on X.

This call came days after Putin secured an unprecedented fifth term as president of Russia on Monday, as the election commission announced the results of a vote in which he faced no serious challenges. Putin claimed his overwhelming margin was proof that Russians had placed their “trust” and “hopes” in him, while politicians across Europe and the US rejected the vote as a sham.

Special and Privileged Partnership

During the phone conversation between Modi and Putin, the two leaders agreed to make concerted efforts towards further strengthening the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the years to come.

According to the official readout, they also reviewed progress in various issues of bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. While discussing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s consistent position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward. The Prime Minister’s Office stated that the two leaders agreed to remain in touch.

India-Russia Ties

Russia has been a longstanding and time-tested partner for India, with defence ties with Moscow being a key pillar. Russia was a minor exporter of fuel to India, but Delhi began boosting shipments after the Ukraine war began in February 2022.

While expanding trade with Moscow, New Delhi consistently called for “complete cessation of all hostilities”. On the contentious issue of Russian oil imports amid Western sanctions, India has also maintained that it will continue to take calls based on its national interest.