Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India on Thursday, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor hailed the bilateral ties between the two countries, calling it “old, serious and strong relationship”.
Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament on Wednesday, Tharoor called the upcoming visit “very important”, while also highlighting the significance of India-Russia ties.
“It is a very important visit. It's an extremely important relationship,” ANI news agency quoted the Thiruvananthapuram MP as saying. “Russia is an old relationship, its a serious relationship, its a strong relationship,” he added.
Putin will be visiting India from December 4-5 for the 23rd annual India-Russia Summit, on the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Regarding the balancing of ties with different nations, Tharoor stressed on preserving India's “negotiating space” with America, China and Russia. “We talked for a long time about strategic autonomy. We have to preserve our negotiating space with America, China and Russia," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Regarding the balancing of ties with different nations, Tharoor stressed on preserving India's “negotiating space” with America, China and Russia. “We talked for a long time about strategic autonomy. We have to preserve our negotiating space with America, China and Russia," he said.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress MP further said that India cannot “mortgage” its economy based on “any other country's interests.” “We have to have independent relationships with all these countries,” Tharoor said.
What did Russia say ahead of Modi-Putin meeting?
Putin, while speaking at an investment forum in Moscow on Tuesday, spoke about “elevating” cooperation between India and China with numerous joint projects in energy, industry, space, agriculture, and other sectors.
“We aim to elevate cooperation with the People's Republic of China and the Republic of India to a qualitatively new level by strengthening its technological component. This is the objective of numerous joint projects in energy, industry, space, agriculture, and other sectors,” ANI quoted Putin as saying.
Meanwhile, Kremlin Spokesperson Dimitry Peskov hailed the relationship between India and Russia, while saying it was based on “a deep historic background of mutual understanding.” Peskov further said that Russia was “proud” to stand “next to our Indian friends during their historic growth.”
The spokesperson also said that Moscow was “grateful” for India's “very friendly stand” towards Russia and during interactions in “bilateral and global affairs.”