On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, First Deputy Prime Minister and Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Russian-Indian Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation Denis Manturov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Finance Anton Siluanov, Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, friends, allow me to welcome you to Moscow once again, this time in an expanded format.
Mr Prime Minister, this is your first official visit after your reappointment following parliamentary elections. I would like to congratulate you on this once again.
Our countries have long-time friendship and good relations that have evolved over the decades. This year, we are marking the 77th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Today, our relations have the status of a specially privileged strategic partnership. We are in permanent contact, and we prioritise the development of trade and economic ties. Certainly, their development meets the interests of the people of India and the peoples of the Russian Federation.
Last year, our trade soared by 60 percent and even more, by 66 percent; it increased by an additional 20 percent in the first quarter of 2024.
We cooperate closely on the international arena, including at international organisations, primarily the UN and such associations as the SCO and BRICS.
Yesterday, we had an opportunity to discuss virtually all practical issues in an informal setting. I am grateful to you for devoting attention to the most acute issues and for trying to find some options for resolving the Ukraine crisis, primarily by peaceful methods.
Mr Prime Minister, we will be delighted to see you in Kazan this autumn at the upcoming BRICS summit.
At the end of my opening remarks, I would like to wish you new successes in facilitating the development of the Indian state. You and I know each other for a long time, and I know that your entire life is devoted to implementing the idea of strengthening the Indian state and improving the life of the people of India.
Allow me to wish you every success.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi (retranslated): Your Excellency, my dear friend.
I would like to thank you for your warm hospitality and respect. Thank you for your friendly words and wishes regarding our unprecedented success at the recent elections in India.
Presidential elections were held in Russia in March, and I would like to congratulate you on your landslide victory.
Your Excellency, India has been suffering from terrorism over the past 40–50 years. We know about the horrors of terrorism from our own experience. Terrorist attacks have recently been carried out in Moscow and subsequently in Dagestan. I can imagine the pain you felt following those terrorist attacks. This is why we firmly condemn all manifestations of terrorism.
Your Excellency, I have maintained deep ties with Russia and with you personally for the past 25 years. We have met 17 times over the past 10 years. It is my sixth visit to Russia, and today we are holding our 22nd bilateral summit. Taken together, this is evidence of our deep relationship and close cooperation. I can say without a doubt, based on our experience, that we will continue to work together in the future as well, strengthening our cooperation, promoting our interaction in all spheres and attaining new goals.
Your Excellency, the past five years have been very difficult for the world, for all countries in the world. There were conflicts and crises. First, the Covid pandemic created problems for the world and for humankind, and after it came conflicts and differences, which put the world in a difficult situation. When the world faced various crises in the spheres of food security, fuels and fertilisers, it was thanks to Indian-Russian friendship, to our personal friendship that we managed to prevent problems for Indian farmers and satisfied their fertiliser requirements. Our personal friendship had a special role to play in this. We are fully committed to protecting the interests of Indian farmers by taking advantage of our cooperation. We will continue to work in this spirit, and we will further strengthen our cooperation.
The world is facing fuel and energy crises, but thanks to our cooperation we managed to prevent problems for the Indian people. We supplied them with petrol, diesel fuel and the like. Therefore, the world should admit that stability on the global market was maintained thanks to Indian-Russian cooperation.
People faced problems with fuel, including diesel fuel, in many countries, while we managed to supply our people with fuel thanks to our agreements in this sphere. We not only guaranteed these supplies but also controlled inflation and ensured stability. I am deeply grateful to you for this.
As a friend, a friend of India, you speak highly of our Make in India programme at various forums. Not only do you praise it, but you take concrete steps in this area. Thanks to our partnership, Indian youth gets new opportunities and new jobs are being created for them. We see great prospects to promote our cooperation and, though it, to advance our country. I am absolutely confident that our prospects in the manufacturing sphere are very good, we are seeing results, and we will continue to work towards this goal.
Your Excellency, we have been in contact for 25 years now. This is our 22nd bilateral summit, and my current visit is in international spotlight. The whole world is watching with great interest. The whole world is providing their own assessments of this visit as they think fit. Yesterday, we had an excellent opportunity to spend four or five hours at your residence. We discussed all these matters in the comfort of your home, and I am very glad that we had a candid exchange on the subject of Ukraine. We treated with respect what each of us had to say, and we had a peaceful discussion.
Your Excellency, you had the chance to see during our G20 presidency that India let the Global South have its voice heard by the international community. Yesterday, during our discussions, I had the opportunity to present the Global South-related issues to you.
Your Excellency, take a war, a conflict or a terrorist attack: any person who believes in humanity is pained to see people, especially innocent children, die. When we feel this pain, our hearts burst, and I had the chance to discuss these matters with you yesterday.
As a friend, I always tell you that peace is indispensable if we want future generations to have a bright future. That is why we believe that war is not a solution. There may be no solution through war. Bombs, missiles and rifles cannot bring peace. This is why we emphasise dialogue, and dialogue is necessary.
Your Excellency, I am very pleased that we had an informal conversation yesterday, and you expressed your views very openly, without emotional colouring. Our talks gave rise to very interesting ideas and absolutely new perspectives.
Your Excellency, we also agreed yesterday that peace must be restored as soon as possible, and we are ready to assist in any way. I heard your position, your positive views and considerations, and I can assure you that India has always been on the side of peace. As I listened to you, I felt optimistic and hopeful about the future. I would like to thank you for that.
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