Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday in a congratulatory message to re-elected Russian President Vladimir Putin he looked forward to boosting ties to develop their "special" relationship.
"Look forward to working together to further strengthen the time-tested Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia in the years to come," Modi wrote on social media platform X.
He offered his "warm congratulations" to Putin.
Warm congratulations to H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation. Look forward to working together to further strengthen the time-tested Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia in the years to come.…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 18, 2024
New Delhi and Moscow have ties dating back to the Cold War and Russia remains by far the biggest arms supplier to the world's most populous country.
India has shied away from explicit condemnations of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, even as it pursues greater security ties with the United States.
It has bought hundreds of millions of barrels of cut-price Russian crude since the invasion of Ukraine, saving itself billions of dollars while bolstering Moscow's war coffers.
Russia has become India's top oil supplier, overtaking the traditional heavyweight Middle Eastern exporters.
But India has also deepened defence cooperation with Western countries in recent years, including in the Quad alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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