RUSSIA-INDIA TIES TIME-TESTED: Putin slams Western pressure in trying to destabilise relations

By R Anil Kumar

Russian President Vladimir Putin says, “We hope that in the upcoming years we will reach 100 billion US dollars in mutual trade. It’s about 58 or 60 billion US dollars, but we have all the foundations to work more actively and to reach more ambitious goals. We are not only talking about our plans in energy, including nuclear energy. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is now being constructed. New platforms will emerge in terms of hydrocarbons. We will be continuing to work together. We have one of the largest investment projects in the Indian economy, and we will be doing mutual investments…”

ST. PETERSBURG/ Bengaluru, June 4, 2026. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, June 4, said Russia is determined to broaden its time-tested relations with India and asserted that the US attempts to force New Delhi into scaling back its cooperation with Russia are both futile and damaging to international relations.

During the interaction, Putin acknowledged that efforts have been made by Western countries to persuade India to reduce cooperation with Russia. However, he argued that such pressure has proved counterproductive.

“Everyone has understood that pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India is detrimental for international relations,” he said.

In a separate message directed at the United States regarding India’s foreign policy choices, Putin was even more explicit. Referring to Washington’s attempts to influence New Delhi’s position on Russia, he said, “The US is trying to pressure India, for example, when it comes to cooperation with Russia. But putting pressure on Narendra Modi’s democracy is detrimental for international relations. It doesn’t matter where this pressure comes from.”

Putin further suggested that India would continue to resist outside pressure and pursue policies aligned with its own interests. Echoing that assessment, he indicated that New Delhi’s strategic autonomy remains intact despite intensifying geopolitical competition and divisions arising from the Ukraine conflict.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is referring to the expanding India-Russia bilateral trade goal, which the two nations have officially targeted to reach by 2030.

Putin highlighted this ambitious milestone during interactions with global news agencies, noting that while current mutual trade hovers near $68.7 billion, both nations are actively working to surpass the$100 billionmark well ahead of schedule

Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion strongly endorsed India’s independent foreign policy, arguing that attempts by Western nations, particularly the United States, to influence New Delhi’s engagement with Moscow are ineffective and harmful to international relations.

Speaking in St. Petersburg during an interaction with heads of leading global news agencies, Putin also expressed confidence that economic ties between India and Russia would continue to expand.

Putin praised India’s economic performance and credited its growth trajectory to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the efforts of his government.

“India is one of the leading economies of the world that has showed the highest rate of economic growth. This is not something that comes out of the blue. This is result of the hardwork that the government of India has been doing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Putin said.

The Russian leader noted that India has emerged as one of Moscow’s most important economic partners. Bilateral trade turnover between the two countries reached $68.7 billion in 2025, and Putin said he expects that figure to rise significantly in the years ahead.

“India is among the world’s major economies and is currently demonstrating an impressive rate of economic growth,” he remarked, adding that Russia and India are well positioned to achieve a trade volume of $100 billion in the coming years. Such an increase would represent growth of more than 30 per cent from current levels.

Putin also stressed that India’s growing engagement with the United States has not weakened its longstanding relationship with Russia. According to him, New Delhi’s approach is guided by its own national priorities, and Moscow respects that position.

“We are glad that India is developing its relations with all countries it thinks important for its national interests,” Putin said when asked whether India’s closer ties with Washington were creating structural challenges for Russia.

He maintained that Russia does not view India’s relationships with other nations as a threat to bilateral cooperation and described New Delhi as a dependable partner. “India is a great nation and democracy and Russia will continue to expand its relations with it,” he said.

Putin expects decisions on new sites as part of Kudankulam NPP project in India

Cooperation in the hydrocarbon energy segment will also continue, the Russian leader noted

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he expects decisions to be made on new sites within the framework of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) project in India.

“Not only our plans in the energy sphere, including nuclear energy, are here – Kudankulam is being built and is functioning. And new sites, we expect, decisions will be made [on them],” the head of state said at the meeting with the heads of leading news agencies of the world.

Cooperation in the hydrocarbon energy segment will also continue, the Russian leader noted. Russia is one of key foreign investors in the Indian economy, the president noted. “We will continue doing this, investing. Everyone is well aware, India is operating in the sphere of pharmaceutics, and our [Russian] companies are ready thus far to offer many things,” Putin said.

“We outline, to be more exact, outlined very good, promising and far-reaching plans of interest for both India and Russia,” the Russian leader stressed.