Putin says sanctions threats against India would backfire under PM Modi

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that any attempt to pressure India through sanctions would be counterproductive under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding that sovereign nations have the right to choose their defence and trade partners.

India’s sovereign choices

Addressing the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday (June 6), the Russian President said that, notwithstanding foreign pressure, India has consistently acted and made decisions as per its national interest and would continue to do so about its ties with Russia.

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"India always acts as a sovereign country, and under the leadership of PM Modi, any potential threats of sanctions would boomerang immediately," said Putin as quoted by NDTV.

As for the prospect of India facing pressure or a threat of sanctions from the US if it decides to procure the Su-57 stealth fighter or the S-500 air defence system, Putin said India’s foreign policy has always been guided by its national interest.

India is a sovereign country, and it is free to choose those products that they consider to be most up-to-date and most applicable for it," said Putin.

Defence ties beyond politics

Elaborating further, the Russian president said that as for defence procurement, India’s strategic decisions have always been guided by operational needs rather than external pressure, adding that the defence ties between Moscow and New Delhi were not dependent on changing political situations.

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"Our cooperation with India, just like with all other partners of ours, is not subject to the political environment," Putin said.

Putin asserted that Russia would not allow external powers to determine the nature of its defence cooperation with India, saying Moscow makes its own decisions regarding military supplies and partnerships. Stressing that Russia would honour the understandings reached with India, he said the country remained committed to fulfilling obligations undertaken with its strategic partners.

"We can't be dictated, 'Do not deliver that to India.' Nobody can dictate us," Putin said.

Commitment to partners

Reiterating Russia's position on bilateral cooperation, Putin said Moscow would continue to uphold commitments made to friendly nations, particularly India, irrespective of external pressure or geopolitical considerations.

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"We will always stand true to commitments given to our partners, especially countries such as India," Putin said.

Speaking about the Su-57 stealth fighter programme, the Russian president said Moscow had initially explored the possibility of developing the aircraft jointly with India. However, after the proposed collaboration failed to move forward, Russia proceeded with the project independently while keeping the option of future sales open.

Su-57 offer remains open

"Su-57 is a very good aircraft, probably the most modern one, the most up-to-date in the world as of now," Putin said.

"We offered that we should do that together. Well, it didn't work out, but we did it on our own, and we stand ready to sell Su-57,” he added.