Putin Affirms India's Sovereignty Amid Sanctions Threats
Russian President Vladimir Putin has asserted that any sanctions threats against India would "boomerang immediately," emphasizing that New Delhi has always been "guided by its national interests." Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin stated that India is free to choose the products that "they consider to be most up to date, most applicable for them and obviously offering the best price-quality ratio."
"India always acts as a sovereign country and under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, any potential threats of sanctions would boomerang immediately. We have been in close talks with Prime Minister Modi for a long while... All the sanctions have been eliminated and the relationship between the USA and India is developing successfully, as I understand... India is free to choose the products that they consider to be most up to date, most applicable for them and obviously offering the best price-quality ratio. India is always guided by its national interests," said Putin.
Russia's Commitment to India
The Russian president underscored that Kremlin's cooperation with India "is not subject to the political environment" and that Moscow would remain "true to commitments given to our partners, especially partners like India." He added, "Our cooperation with India, just like with all other partners of ours, is not subject to the political environment. We can't be dictated to not deliver that to India. Nobody can dictate to us and nobody would even try to do that... We will always stand true to commitments given to our partners, especially partners like India."
BRICS Overtakes G7 in Economic Size
Putin also declared that "BRICS has overtaken the G7" in terms of economic size, while praising India as a "key partner" for its leading role in the IT and software industry. He noted that developing countries are playing an increasingly important role in the global economy, while the share of Western economies has been shrinking.
"If you look at the global GDP dynamics of the last five years, you will see that almost half of its annual growth, 49%, is accounted for by BRICS countries, whereas the contribution of the so-called group of seven is estimated at 18%...," Putin said. "The share of BRICS and the world GDP based on purchasing power parity stands at 40%, whereas the G7 share is less than 29%," he added. "So BRICS has already overtaken the G7, and it did so back in 2020, but this gap is increasing. This gap is expected to grow in favour of BRICS..."
He projected stronger growth for BRICS economies compared to advanced nations. "The G7 is going to grow at best by 1.1% per year, whereas BRICS nations are going to grow by more than 4%," he said, adding that this trend is expected to continue.
India's Role in IT and Digital Economy
Further praising India's role in the digital economy, Putin stated, "Another of our key partners, India, is one of the leading players in the IT industry. It accounts for a significant share of the global software market."
This article was reported by the TOI News Desk, a dedicated team of journalists operating around the clock to deliver comprehensive news and updates.
