ST PETERSBURG: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said that Moscow will not interfere in the "delicate" bilateral relations between India and China, expressing confidence that both New Delhi and Beijing are committed to resolving their long-standing boundary disputes amicably.
In a wide-ranging interaction with the heads of major global news agencies, Putin praised both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping and said both the leaders are determined to resolve the border issue peacefully.
"This is a delicate, multi-faceted relationship between India and China, and interfering into them is not a good idea. Of course, we interact with both our friends -- both India and China," the Russian President said responding to a question from PTI's CEO and Editor-in-Chief Vijay Joshi.
"President Xi and Prime Minister Modi are both trying to resolve all the issues of mutual interest, including the the border issue," he said.
india and China rolled out a series of measures in the last over one year to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020 and the subsequent military face-off that lasted for over four years,
Highlighting Moscow’s strategic equilibrium in Asia, President Putin said its decades-long partnerships with both New Delhi and Beijing grew naturally and are entirely independent of one another.
Characterising these relationships as having evolved organically, he stressed that Moscow's growing synergy with New Delhi does not come at Beijing's expense, just as Russia's deep alliance with China does not compromise its bond with India.
Putin also gave a historical background of the Russia-India-China trilateral framework.
"At one point, I suggested that leaders of India, China meet in Russia and that's how Russia-India-China was established. We had things to talk about, to agree upon, " he said.
The Russian president also touched upon frosty ties between India and Pakistan.
"We are well aware of the intricacies of the issues concerning the border between India and Pakistan," he said.
At the same time, Putin said he does not believe Pakistan was under control of China
"I don't think so," he said adding, "Pakistan is a large country which has multi-faceted ties with different countries"
"Of course, for Pakistan, it is very important to take into account the cooperation with China, " he added when asked about China-Pakistan friendship.
The Russian president also touched upon Russian's defence and military ties with India, and cited co-development and co-production of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.
Putin also suggested that Russia proposed to India to work jointly on manufacturing the fifth generation Su-57 fighter jet.
India is in the process of procuring a batch of fifth-generation fighter jets.
"We proposed our Indian friends to work together on technology, the fifth generation technology....we are ready to work with India in this field to supply (fighter) aircraft," he said.
The Russian president said his country is ready to provide India with critical technologies for major defence platforms and weapons.