Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday strongly backed India’s strategic autonomy and said any attempt to pressure India through sanctions would boomerang under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Putin insisted that sovereign nations must remain free to choose their defence and economic partners.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Putin said India has consistently acted in line with its national interests and will continue to do so despite external pressure over its ties with Russia.
“India always acts as a sovereign country, and under the leadership of PM Modi, any potential threats of sanctions would boomerang immediately,” Putin stated.
Emphasising India’s strategic autonomy, he added, “India is a sovereign country, and it is free to choose those products that they choose those products that they consider to be most up-to-date and most applicable for them. No matter what people say, India has always been acting in this manner.”
On the possibility of India facing sanctions pressure from the United States if it were to acquire Russian defence systems such as the Su-57 or the S-500 air defence platform, Putin said New Delhi had consistently pursued an independent foreign policy guided by national interests.
“India is a sovereign country, and it is free to choose those products that they consider to be most up-to-date and most applicable for them,” Putin said.
The Russian president said that operational requirements and value rather than external political pressure would guide India’s decisions of defence procurement. He also stressed that Moscow’s defence cooperation with India was not dependent on changing political conditions. “Our cooperation with India, just like with all other partners of ours, is not subject to the political environment,” Putin said.
“We can’t be dictated, ‘Do not deliver that to India.’ Nobody can dictate us.” He added that Russia would continue to stand by agreements reached with New Delhi. “We will always stand true to commitments given to our partners, especially countries such as India,” Putin said.
On the Su-57 fighter aircraft, Putin said Russia had earlier proposed a joint development programme with India but later pursued the project independently after the plan did not materialise.
“Su-57 is a very good aircraft, probably the most modern one, the most up-to-date in the world as of now,” Putin said. “We offered that we should do that together. Well, it didn’t work out, but we did it on our own, and we stand ready to sell Su-57.”
Source: NDTV
--Agencies
