PM Modi Is A Patriot, A Lot Has Been Done Under His Leadership: Putin Hails India's Development

Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a patriot as he lauded India's "tremendous progress" in terms of the nation's development.

File Photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Prime Minister Narendra Modi ( Image Source :PTI )

New Delhi: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his independent foreign policy and said that a lot has been done under his leadership in India.

Putin made the remarks in his annual address to the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think tank.

"A lot has been done under the leadership of PM Modi. He is a patriot of his country. His idea of 'Make in India' matters both economic wise and in ethics. Future belongs to India, it can be proud of the fact that it's the largest democracy in the world," he said at Valdai Discussion Club, as quoted by news agency Reuters.

"India has made tremendous progress in its development from being a British colony to a modern state. Almost 1.5 billion people and tangible development results give reasons for everyone's respect and admiration for India," he added as he hailed India's development.

Talking about the ties between India and Russia, Putin said, "It has been underpinned by a close ally relationship of many decades. We've never had any difficult issues and supported each other and that's happening right now. I'm sure it'll happen in future."

The Russian President mentioned that PM Modi has asked him to increase the supply of fertilisers important for Indian agriculture. "We have increased volume by 7.6 times. Trade in agriculture has almost doubled," he added.

Putin's speech at the Kremlin-affiliated institute comes as Moscow is escalating the war in Ukraine more than eight months after it launched the military offensive on February 24.

In his speech, Putin criticised the West for playing "dirty games" for global dominance and said he is convinced that sooner or later "new centres of power will emerge in the multipolar world and the West will have to start talking as equals about our common future", Reuters reported.

He stressed the US and its allies are not safe from the consequences of their own actions and added that the West cannot sit out crises it has caused.

"Only a world united by common goals can act on the challenges it faces," the Russian president said. "Power over the world is what the West has put at stake in the game it plays. This game is certainly dangerous, bloody and I would call it dirty," he added.

As per the Russian President, western nations, which want to impose their values and vision as universal, were robbing everyone, including themselves.

"First of all, this eradicates the creative potential of the West itself. There is a mercantile interest here too," he emphasised.

(With Agency Inputs)