New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Moscow and the outcomes of his summit talks with President Vladimir Putin were “historic and game-changing” considering the prevailing turbulent geopolitical environment, Russia’s Charge d’affaires Roman Babushkin said on Wednesday.
The Russian diplomat said the focus of the talks between the two leaders was on expanding India-Russia trade and economic ties.
In his first trip since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Modi paid a two-day visit to Moscow on July 8 and 9 during which he held summit talks with Putin.
“The leaders have decided to strengthen cooperation in all areas. It is a historic and game-changing move, especially given the turbulent environment around us,” Babushkin said at a media briefing.
“It has got unprecedented coverage and presumably overshadowed all other events. It seemed that the whole world was watching it,” he said.
Babushkin also criticised the US for making certain comments ahead of Modi’s visit to Moscow and described the remarks as interference in ties between the two nations.
“It was the conduct of two independent global powers based on mutual trust and respect. The external factors don’t play much role when it comes to Russia-India relations,” he said.
India and Russia have established foundational convergences in key areas of our cooperation, he said.
The senior diplomat said both sides vowed to expand cooperation in a range of key areas including fossil fuel, nuclear energy and trade.
Highlighting key outcomes of the summit talks, Babushkin said India and Russia decided to go ahead with a bilateral payment system using national currencies.
If you noticed, one of the most important points of the joint statement was that we have decided to go ahead with the establishment of a payment system under the framework of national currency settlement, he said.
In the Modi-Putin talks, the two sides set a target of USD 100 billion in annual trade volume by 2030 and vowed to develop a robust bilateral payment settlement mechanism using national currencies.
On India’s demand to Russia to ensure the return of Indians working in the Russian Army, he said, “We are on the same page with India on this issue.”
We hope it will be resolved soon, he said when the Indians return home.
