Tianjin: During his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation provides a platform to unite the Global South and East.
Putin also noted that this year marks the 15th anniversary of the India-Russia ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’.
“I am feeling very happy after meeting you…SCO provides a platform to unite the countries of the Global South and East…December 21, 2025, marks the 15th anniversary of the elevation of India-Russia ties to a ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’…We enjoy a multi-faceted relationship…Today’s meeting is expected to provide a significant boost to the India-Russia relationship. Russia and India enjoy very good relations,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Putin appreciated India and China’s efforts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine war, countering the White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro’s narrative of New Delhi funding the war.
Addressing the 25th SCO Heads of State Council summit, Putin slammed Ukraine’s western allies, which he claimed supported the “coup d’etat in Kyiv”, which ultimately resulted in the crisis in Ukraine. “Crisis in Ukraine did not arise as a result of an ‘invasion’ but as a result of a coup d’etat in Kyiv, supported by Ukraine’s western allies,” Putin slammed.
Putin remarks oppose the narrative pushed by White House Trade Advisor Peter Navarro that the conflict is “PM Modi’s war”, accusing India of acting as a “laundromat for the Kremlin” while justifying its 50 per cent tariffs on India.
“Ukraine comes to us and Europe and says give us more money (for its war). Everybody in America loses because of what India is doing. Consumers and businesses, as well as workers, lose because India’s high tariffs cause job losses, lower incomes, and reduced wages. The taxpayers lose because we have to fund Modi’s war.” Navarro had told Bloomberg in an interview.
Additionally, Putin said that dialogue within the SCO helps lay the foundation for a new Eurasian security system, replacing outdated Eurocentric and Euro-Atlantic models. (With inputs from ANI)
