St Petersburg | Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that any attempt to undermine India's sovereignty through "threats of sanctions" would "boomerang immediately" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
Putin made these remarks at the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday in response to a question about his comments during an interaction with heads of leading global news agencies, including PTI, on Thursday night.
"India always acts as a sovereign country, and under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, any potential threats of sanctions would boomerang immediately," Putin said.
Putin said that he has been in close talks with Prime Minister Modi for a long period, while recalling the time when the Indian leader was banned from entering the United States.
"I know PM Modi will never forget about it," Putin said. "Now that he is (the) prime minister, all the sanctions have been eliminated, and the relationship between the US and India is developing successfully as far as I understand."
Asked about the possibility of India facing US sanctions if it were to acquire Russian defence systems such as the Su-57 aircraft or the S-500 air defence platform, Putin said, "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 them and obviously offering the best price. No matter what people say, India has always been acting in this manner." "India is always guided by its national interests," he added.
Putin said that Russia's cooperation with India, just like with all other partners, is not subject to the political environment.
"We can't be dictated... Nobody can dictate to us, and nobody would even try to do that. We are always going to do what we consider to be right, and we will always stand true to the commitments given to partners, especially partners like India," he said.
Highlighting Russia's long-standing relationship with India, especially in the area of defence, Putin said, "Our relations with the Indian friends are specific, thanks to our mutual trust. We concentrate not just on trade. Not just on buying and selling, we're also concentrating on joint research and development." Putin highlighted how experts from both countries are working on the design of the mid-range missile BrahMos.
On the fifth-generation stealth aircraft Sukhoi Su-57, Putin said Russia had earlier proposed a joint development programme with India, but later pursued the project independently after the plan did not materialise.
"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."
For decades, Russia has served as India's primary defence supplier. However, persistent supply chain disruptions and delivery delays stemming from the war in Ukraine have forced New Delhi to aggressively diversify its military procurement strategy.
After a years-long search for a fifth-generation fighter jet, India has launched its ambitious Advanced Multirole Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project, widely regarded as the nation's largest indigenous aerospace programme.
As the aircraft under the AMCA project is unlikely to join the Indian Air Force (IAF) before 2035, the government is considering the procurement of at least two squadrons (around 36) of Su-57s, provided they fulfil the technical specifications.