Russia-India ties making 'steady headway' despite 'current turbulences': Putin

Russias relations with India and its people are making steady headway despite the current turbulences in the world President Vladimir Putin has said and expressed confidence that the two countries will maintain their traditionally friendly ties in any alignment of political forces after elections in IndiaPutins remarks came on Wednesday when visiting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on him at the KremlinWe are very pleased to note that despite the current turbulences in the world relations with our traditional friends in Asia with India and the Indian people are making steady headway Putin saidThe ties between India and Russia remained strong notwithstanding Moscows invasion of Ukraine India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogueWe know Prime Minister Modis position and we have repeatedly spoken about this the position concerning his attitude to complex processes including hotspots to the situation in Ukraine Putin saidI have repeatedly informed him about the situation around this conflict I know about his desire to do everything to resolve this problem peacefully but we will now talk more about it We will provide you with additional information about this situation Putin saidPutin said he would be happy to see our friend Prime Minister Modi in RussiaWe will have an opportunity to discuss the current issues and talk about the prospects for developing RussianIndian relations We have to cover a lot of ground Putin saidSo I would like to ask you to convey to him my best wishes and please give him our invitation iquest we are looking forward to seeing him in Russia Putin saidHe acknowledged that Indias domestic political calendar is not simpleIt is complicated considering that India will hold general elections to parliament We wish success to our friends in India We believe we will maintain our traditional friendly ties in any alignment of political forces Putin who is seeking a fifth term in office in March next year saidJaishankar on his part conveyed the personal greetings of Prime Minister Modi and also handed over a letter to Putin in which he expressed his thoughts about the state of IndiaRussia cooperation and the progress that the two sides have made in recent days according to a press release issued by the KremlinJaishankar also told Putin that Prime Minister Modi looks forward to visiting Russia next yearI am sure that we will find a date which is mutually convenient for the political calendar of both countries So it is certainly something that he looks forward to the Kremlin press release quoted Jaishanar as sayingPutin also talked about bilateral trade relationsOur trade is growing for the second year running and at a confident pace This year the growth rates were even higher than last year he saidIndias import of Russian crude oil has gone up significantly despite increasing disquiet over it in many Western countriesOur trade is growing for the second year running and at a confident pace This year the growth rates were even higher than last year I dont remember how many percentage points it grew by last year but we have already surpassed this figure in the nine months of this year the Russian president saidIt is common knowledge that this is primarily energy resources oil oil products and coal but its not just that We are working together in hightech areas he saidJaishankar also informed Putin that bilateral trade has touched more than USD 50 billionWe believe that this is something whose potential is now only beginning to be visible It is important that we give it a more sustainable character and we discussed how we should do that Jaishankar saidHe also pointed out that India and Russia have signed agreements on Tuesday which would take the Kudankulam nuclear power project forwardRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Deputy Prime Minister and Chair of the Russian side of the Intergovernmental RussianIndian Commission on Trade Economic Scientific Technical and Cultural Cooperation Denis Manturov and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov also attended the meetingThis 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