India pursues an independent foreign policy, no “games” are played with it, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with students in Kaliningrad.
As the president reminded, it is not easy to pursue an independent policy in the modern world. A country with a population of 1.5 billion people has the right to do so, Putin emphasised.
“This is important from the point of view of organising joint work, because it gives us the opportunity to forecast the actions of our partners in the medium and longer term. It is important in practical work. Can we rely on the country, on the leadership of the country we are co-operating with, or will it tomorrow make decisions that do not even correspond to its national interests? Such games do not work with India,” the Russian president said.
In late December, Vladimir Putin, at a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar, extended an invitation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit Russia. The minister, for his part, conveyed Modi’s greetings to Putin, as well as a letter from him.
For 2023, Russia-India trade turnover in January-November increased 1.9 times compared to 2022 to a record $59.7bn.
