Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he is looking forward to his upcoming visit to India in early December and highly awaits meeting with his dear friend and Russia’s trustworthy partner, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Speaking at the 2025 Valdai Discussion Club meeting in Sochi, President Putin reaffirmed Moscow’s long-standing trust in New Delhi and described Prime Minister Modi as a very reasonable, wise leader, strongly oriented toward the interests of his nation.
Mr Putin called the India-Russia relationship special and trustworthy since the days of India’s independence struggle. He highlighted that India has always remembered the Soviet Union’s support and stressed that both nations have built a friendship without interstate disputes or differences.
Noting that current trade turnover between the two countries falls short of its true potential President Putin emphasized the need to build effective, mutually beneficial trade ties. He said the focus now must be on resolving key issues in order to unlock greater opportunities. This include addressing logistics challenges, improving financing mechanisms, and finding new solutions for cross-border payments within the BRICS instruments, on bilateral basis, using rupees or the third country currencies or using the electronic payment methods.
President Putin acknowledged the existing trade imbalance with India and said he has already instructed the Russian government, including Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, head of the Intergovernmental Commission, to come up with concrete measures to strengthen trade and economic ties.
Beyond trade, President Putin also highlighted the strong coordination between Russia and India on international political issues, noting that both sides regularly align positions and respect each other’s perspectives. He also praised the growing humanitarian and cultural ties – pointing to the large number of Indian students in Russia and the enduring popularity of Indian cinema, even mentioning a dedicated Russian TV channel broadcasting Indian films around the clock.
In the field of security and defence, Mr Putin emphasized the deep trust that underpins cooperation, including the joint production of advanced weapons systems – a reflection of the robust and time-tested partnership between the two nations.
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