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Come October: Russia praises India, Modi—to woo them back from the US!

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Virendra Pandit

 

New Delhi: As the year 2024 approaches, the US is trying to ‘reset’ China, and its bete noire Russia is also ‘rediscovering’ India!

That is why, in quick succession, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “very wise man,” and called India a “giant country.” He also backed India’s aspiration to get the membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

In his latest, Putin warned the West: “Attempts to turn India away from Russia are pointless. India is an independent state.”

He said India is acting independently in the interests of its citizens and any efforts by the West to create a rift between Moscow and New Delhi are pointless, the media reported on Friday.

“The West is trying to create an enemy out of everyone who does not agree with their monopoly, everyone is at risk—even India. But the Indian leadership is acting independently in the interests of its nation,” he said in a keynote address at an event at the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.

His remarks came after Indian refiners drew criticism for snapping up discounted Russian oil after the West and its allies imposed sanctions on Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and stopped buying crude from Moscow.

Praising Prime Minister Modi, he said India is growing “stronger and stronger” under his leadership.

“India has over 1.4 billion population, more than 7 percent of economic growth…that’s a powerful country, mighty country. And it’s growing stronger and stronger under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi,” Putin said.

He also said that India, like Russia, has no borders as Indians are making their mark in almost all parts of the globe.

President Putin, against whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant in March on the human rights issue in Ukraine, has rarely left Russia, especially after the Wagner militia’s brief mutiny against him in June. He recently skipped the BRICS gathering in South Africa and the G-20 Summit in New Delhi, as he did not want to cause a “political show.”

“Why should I create problems for our friends during an event?” Putin said, trying to justify his absence from global events.

In March, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin over his decision to send troops to Ukraine last year and over the illegal deportation of children to Russia. Moscow has branded the arrest warrant “illegal.”