Claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are “responsible” leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 5 that they are both capable of resolving issues between the two countries, and that he was important that no “extra-regional power” should interfere in the process.

As Russia publicly criticized the Quad, the four-nation group of India, the United States, Japan and Australia, Mr Putin also said PTI that while it was not for Moscow to assess how a nation should participate in an initiative and to what extent it should relate to other countries, no partnership should be aimed at making friends against whom it would be.

The Russian president’s remarks, in response to a question about Moscow’s view on Quad as well as India’s participation in the consortium, were a veiled reference to the Chinese claim that the consortium must contain the influence of Beijing in the strategic region of the Indo-Pacific.

He also claimed that there was no “contradiction” in Russia‘s partnership with India and ties between Moscow and Beijing.

“Yes, I know there are problems related to relations between India and China, but there are still a lot of problems between neighboring countries, but I know the attitude of the Indian Prime Minister and the Chinese President . They are very responsible people and they sincerely treat each other with the utmost respect and believe that they will always come up with a solution to any problem they may face.

“But it is important that no other extra-regional power interferes with this,” said the Russian president. PTI through a translator during a virtual interaction.

It has been more than a year since the military clash between China and India erupted in eastern Ladakh on May 5, 2020 in which there were deaths on both sides for the first time in 45 years. . They made limited progress in achieving disengagement in the Lake Pangong region while negotiations for similar measures at other sticking points remained at an impasse.

Asked about the growing closeness between Russia and China and whether this will impact Indo-Russian security and defense cooperation, Putin said India-Russia relations are developing quite rapidly. , with enough success on the basis of “confidence”.

“We highly appreciate such a high level of cooperation with our Indian friends. These relationships are strategic in nature. They cover a whole range of avenues of our cooperation in the fields of economy, energy and high technology. In matters of defense, and I’m not just talking about buying Russian weapons … We have very deep and deep relations with India, based on trust, ”he said.

Mr. Putin also asserted that India is Russia’s only partner with which it works for “the development and manufacture, especially in India, of advanced weapon systems and technologies, but this is not where our cooperation ends because our cooperation is multifaceted ”. During interaction with some editors-in-chief of major international news agencies, including the United States, India, United Kingdom, Germany and France, Mr Putin responded to queries. wide-ranging issues, including Russian-American relations, the pandemic situation, American sanctions against Russia and the question of Gaza.

Asked about Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov‘s criticisms of Quad as an “Asian NATO” and his point of view on India’s participation in the grouping, Mr. Putin said: “We are not participating in quad, it is not for me to give my assessment to some other country participating in any initiative because each sovereign nation has the right to decide with whom and to what extent it builds its relations. I just believe that any partnership between countries should be about making friends against anyone, no. Ahead of his first summit with US President Joe Biden in Geneva on June 16, the Russian president also said he did not expect any “breakthrough.”

“We don’t take action first – I’m talking about actions that have damaged our relationship. It is not we who have introduced sanctions against us, it is the United States which has done it every time and even without reason, simply because our country exists ”, he declared.