Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he had “extremely productive” discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and they reviewed the complete range of India-Russia relations as well as other global subjects during their first ever informal summit in this Black Sea coastal city.
Mr. Modi said friendship between India and Russia had stood the test of time, and the ties would continue to scale new heights.
The Prime Minister said the seeds of the ‘strategic partnership’, sown by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Putin, had now grown into a “special privileged strategic partnership”, which is a “very big achievement” in itself.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Modi also thanked Russia for playing a major role in ensuring India’s permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. “We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS,” Mr. Modi said.
“You have added a new aspect of informal summit in the bilateral relationship which I think is a great occasion and creates trust,” the Prime Minister said.
“The Monday talks were very intense,” Russia’s official Tass news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.
Russian President Putin and Prime Minister Modi paid special attention to the economic talks, he said.
“We discussed the whole spectrum of our particularly privileged strategic partnership, paid special attention to the economy, noted the steady growth of trade turnover,” the Minister said.
Ahead of their summit, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Putin will discuss Russia-India military cooperation with Mr. Modi, amidst U.S. sanctions on Russia.
Earlier, official sources said the possible impact of the U.S. sanctions against Russia under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation might also figure during the talks between Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin.
The CAATSA is a U.S. federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia.
It includes sanctions against countries that engage in significant transactions with Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors.
India is not going to allow its defence engagement with Russia to be dictated by any other country, the sources said, adding New Delhi has been lobbying with the Trump administration on the issue.
India could face U.S. sanctions for purchasing high value military defence items, in particular state-of-the-art S-400 Triumf missile defence system, from Russia under the act.
Welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Sochi, Mr. Putin said his visit would give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties. “We are delighted to see you, Mr Prime Minister, and consider you personally as a big friend of our country.We are very glad to be able to have this meeting,” the Russian President said.
Later, President Putin hosted a lunch in the honour of Prime Minister Modi and the two leaders also took a boat ride from Bocharev Creek to Olympic Park in Russia’s Sochi.
