Modi and Xi are responsible leaders, can solve issues: Putin
Asserting that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are very responsible leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said they both are capable of solving Sino-India issues, and cautioned against any interference from extra-regional power in the process.
With Russia publicly critical of the Quad, the four-nation grouping of India, the US, Japan and Australia, Putin said that though it was not up to Moscow to assess how any nation should participate in an initiative and to what extent they should build their relations with other countries but no partnership should be aimed at making friends against anyone. The Russian President’s remarks, in response to a question on Moscow’s view on Quad as well as India’s participation in the grouping, were a veiled reference to the Chinese claim that the grouping is to contain Beijing’s influence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
“Yes, I do know that there are some issues related to India China relations but there are always a lot of issues between neighbouring countries but I know the attitude of both the Prime Minister of India and also the President of China. These are very responsible people and they earnestly treat one another with utmost respect and I believe that they will always arrive at a solution to any issue that they might face.
“But it is important that no other extra-regional power is interfering with that,” the Russian President added. Asked about the growing proximity between Russia and China and if that will impact the Indo-Russia security and defence cooperation, Putin said the relations between India and Russia were developing quite rapidly, quite successfully based on “trust”.
Putin also asserted that India is Russia’s only partner that they are working together with on “elaborating and manufacturing, especially in India, advanced weapon systems and technologies but that is not where our cooperation ends because our cooperation is multifaceted.”
He also noted that India, Russia and China are working in the framework of organisations such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and also cooperating at the United Nations.