'PM Modi Cannot Be Intimidated Or Forced To...': Russian President Vladimir Putin

(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Russian President Vladimir Putin heaped praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he cannot be intimidated or forced to take any decisions that are contrary to India's interests speaking at the 14th VTB investment forum Russia Calling, he also spoke of PM Modi's tough posturing and stance when it comes to defending the national interests.\"I cannot imagine that Modi could be intimidated, or forced to take any actions, steps and decisions that are contrary to the national interests of India and the Indian people. And there is such pressure, I know. By the way, he and I never even talk about this. I just look at what is happening from the outside, and sometimes, to be honest, I'm even surprised at his tough position on defending the national interests of the Indian state,\" the Russian President's Office quoted him as saying at the Forum underlining the bilateral ties between the two countries, Putin said the relations between the nations have been \"developing progressively\" in all directions at the forum, Putin also asserted that PM Modi's \"policy\" is the primary \"guarantor\" of ties between their two nations what the two nations could do to accelerate the expansion of bilateral trade, Putin said,“I would like to say that relations between Russia and India are developing progressively in all directions, and the main guarantor of this is the policy pursued by Prime Minister Mr. Modi. He belongs precisely to that cohort of world political figures about whom I spoke without naming names.”Speaking of the trade turnover between the two countries, he added, \"Last year it was 35 billion dollars per year, and in the first half of this year it was already 33.5 billion. That is, the growth will be significant. Yes, we all understand that, to a large extent, India receives preferences due to discounts on Russian energy resources. Well, he's actually doing the right thing.\"\"If I were them, I would also do the same if the situation develops this way. They make money, and rightly so. But, of course, this is not enough. We have much more opportunities. In the global ranking of the world's economies by purchasing power parity and by economic volume, India ranks third in this list and Russia fifth,\" he added.\"Let me remind you, China, the United States, India, Japan, Russia. The three largest economies in the world by purchasing power parity. Of course, if our trade turnover with China this year is close to 200 billion, it would be right for us to increase it with India,\" the Russian President further noted to the Russian President's Office, Putin also stated that he would talk with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi about the North-South Corridor and added that India is interested in putting such routes into action emphasising the necessity of developing the Northern Sea Route, Putin described it as a \"very promising direction in the field of logistics.\"The Russian President also underscored the need to develop the financial infrastructure and use more national currencies in mutual settlements. He called for paying more attention to investments and investment flows.(With inputs from ANI)

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