Sergey Saenko, international observer

The visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the recent BRICS summit in Kazan opened a new chapter in relations between Moscow and New Delhi. On the sidelines of the summit, the Indian Prime Minister met and held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the meeting, the Russian leader thanked Modi for coming to the BRICS summit and noted that Moscow values ​​interaction with India in the format of this association.

During the conversation, Vladimir Putin noted that relations between Russia and India are of a special, privileged strategic partnership nature and continue to actively develop. The head of state drew attention to the fact that Russian-Indian trade turnover is in good condition and recalled that the next meeting of the intergovernmental commission will be held in New Delhi on November 12. The high-ranking Indian guest thanked Putin in response for the friendship and hospitality shown to him in Kazan.

It is worth emphasizing here that Modi chose to attend the summit in the capital of Tatarstan rather than the Commonwealth of Nations (former British Commonwealth) meeting in Samoa, which was taking place at the same time, thereby humiliating official London and showing what is more important for New Delhi – memories of the past colonial rule of Great Britain or future cooperation within the BRICS.

Let us note one more nuance. At the very beginning of the meeting of the leaders of the two countries, which took place in the Governor’s Palace of the Kazan Kremlin, there was a slight delay with the translation. The translator, not wanting to interrupt Vladimir Putin, waited for a pause in his speech to begin consecutive translation. “We have such a relationship that I thought you understood everything anyway”, the Russian president explained this delay with a smile.

We believe that Putin made this remark for a reason, since his relationship with Modi is such that they understand each other practically without saying a word. It is enough to recall the fruitful visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Moscow in July this year, during which he had lengthy talks with Vladimir Putin. Since the beginning of the year, they have also had four telephone conversations. This may indicate that the leaders of the two countries are in constant contact, and that relations between Russia and India are developing steadily and successfully. This fact was confirmed by Modi himself, who said at a meeting with Putin that “his second visit to Russia in the last few months speaks of coordination, close and strong friendship with Russia, strengthening cooperation in all areas”.

This fact is very disturbing and irritating to the West, which is trying with all its might to tear New Delhi away from Moscow or at least drive a wedge into relations between the two countries. Suffice it to say that the embrace of Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin during the meeting at the BRICS summit in Kazan outraged Western countries. In particular, Irish journalist Chay Bowes wrote about this on his page in the social network X. “The leader of the largest democratic country in the world hugs President Vladimir Putin in Kazan. You can hear the gnashing of teeth in Washington and London,” Bowes wrote.

One can also recall the reaction of the West, primarily the United States, to Modi’s July visit to Moscow. Then in Washington, as the Times of India newspaper wrote, they expressed dissatisfaction with this visit. In particular, the United States stated that they were disappointed both with the timing of the Indian Prime Minister’s trip to Russia and its symbolism. But New Delhi, we note, did not remain silent, and the Indian government issued a sharp rebuke to the US. Thus, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed to the “long-standing relations” between Moscow and New Delhi and noted that in the modern world, every country has freedom of choice. “We must understand that India has long-standing relations with Russia, built on the basis of common interests. In a multipolar world, every country has freedom of choice. Therefore, everyone should remember these realities and not forget about them”, said Randhir Jaiswal, a representative of the Indian Foreign Ministry.

By the way, after Modi’s visit to Moscow and his many hours of negotiations with Putin, the American private intelligence and analytical company Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting Inc) noted that a new system of finance and logistics is already being formed in the Global South by the hands of its largest representatives, the further it goes, the less connected it is with the US and the West as a whole. In this regard the shadow CIA warns the West: “The visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Moscow is connected with the resumption of regular Russian-Indian summits, the completion of a major defense deal and other unpleasant things. And something needs to be done about this”. At the same time Stratfor notes that “India has refrained from criticizing Russia, Moscow remains the country’s largest arms supplier (36% of New Delhi’s arms imports from 2019 to 2023), and Indian refineries imported 2.13 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil in June this year, making Russia India’s largest supplier. But this is only the beginning of the problems for the West”.

Indeed the West is very much frightened by the further rapprochement between Moscow and New Delhi in all directions, despite all the efforts of the same USA to draw India into the circle of its interests, primarily in the matter of confrontation with China in the Indo-Pacific region (IPR). It is for this purpose that Washington seeks to expand and strengthen ties with New Delhi within the framework of the QUAD organization (USA, Japan, India, Australia), the main goal of which is precisely to counter Beijing in the IPR. So far, it should be noted, the United States is rather gently courting India and, for example, is not imposing sanctions due to New Delhi’s close cooperation with Moscow. However, some Western experts believe that Washington’s patience may eventually snap, and it will toughen its position towards India. It can be realized up to direct threats and blackmail. True, in this regard it is necessary to remind the West and the United States in particular who they are dealing with: after all, India today is not a British colony, but a country with the largest population in the world and one of the highest rates of economic growth. In addition, New Delhi has distinguished itself by its independent foreign policy course for all 75 years of its sovereignty, which it has repeatedly demonstrated in practice. For this reason, indicating, and especially dictating to official New Delhi with whom to be friends and with whom not, is completely unacceptable and counterproductive. And the long-standing and time-tested friendship and strength of relations between India and Russia are clear evidence of this.

Here it is appropriate to quote the words of the head of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who recently stated that Russia has never done anything that could negatively affect India’s interests, noting that there are not many large countries in the world about which this can be said. “I will tell you very simply. If you look at our history with the Soviet Union and subsequently with Russia since [India’s] independence in 1947, I can confidently say, knowing that no one in this room can object to this, that Russia has never done anything that could negatively affect India’s interests. There are not many large countries in the world about which such a statement can be made,” Jaishankar said, speaking on October 21 at an international political conference organized by the NDTV television channel. While the West is indignant about the rapprochement between Russia and India, New Delhi is making plans for the future. Thus, it became known that Marendra Modi wants to turn the country into a developed power by the centenary of its independence. After coming to power in 2014, Modi built sea and river ports, railways, airports. Thanks to this, EY claims, India will become an economy worth $26 trillion by 2047. It is believed that this will bring its standard of living closer to the highly developed countries of the world. Moreover, Modi has repeatedly said confidently that this ambitious task will be accomplished. In conclusion, we note that India’s entry into the highest level of development will not affect, as analysts believe, the relations between New Delhi and Moscow – they will continue to be of a strategic nature, meeting the interests of the peoples of both countries.