Chinese Official Media Highlights Putin Calling India-China Close Friends Of Russia

Chinese official media on Friday highlighted President Vladimir Putin’s remarks calling both India and China the closest friends of Russia while emphasising that Moscow has “no right” to interfere in their bilateral ties.

China, a close ally of Russia, is yet to officially comment on Putin's visit to India, while keeping a close watch on the outcome.

While Putin’s visit to India is largely ignored by the official media, which focused more on French President Emmanuel Macron’s current visit to Beijing, state-run Global Times, however, carried a report on Putin’s remarks on how he viewed Russia’s relations with India and China.

The daily, which is part of the ruling Chinese Communist Party's official publications, quoted Putin’s remark to India Today stating that 'India and China are our closest friends - we treasure that relationship deeply.' But at the same time, it highlighted Putin’s guarded comment that despite sharing close ties with India and China, Russia has “no right” to interfere in their bilateral ties.

'We know this very well — India and China are our closest friends. We treasure that relationship deeply, and I do not believe we have the right to interfere in your bilateral relations,' the daily quoted Putin as saying in the interview.

Quoting a report by Russian news agency TASS, the daily’s report said Putin expressed confidence that Indian and Chinese leaders are committed to finding solutions to all intergovernmental issues, including the most sensitive ones.

He cited their wisdom as the key factor enabling the two countries to reach agreements. 'At the same time, Russia does not feel entitled to intervene, because these are your bilateral affairs.' 

Experts say that while China and Russia enjoy a close strategic partnership, Moscow’s enduring ties with New Delhi remain a source of unease for Beijing. While developing its close ties with Beijing, Moscow for its part has ensured its close with New Delhi remained intact even when Sino-Indian relations reached their lowest in 2020 following the Ladakh confrontation.

Besides Putin’s comments on India-China ties, his remarks refuting US accusations over India’s purchases of Russian oil were briefly carried by state-run Xinhua news agency.

For its part, China tops the list of countries purchasing Russian oil and gas and rejected US calls to halt the imports to penalise Moscow for continuing its war on Ukraine.

'The US itself still buys nuclear fuel from us for its own nuclear power plants. That is also fuel,' Xinhua quoted Putin as saying in his India Today interview.

He further added, 'If the US has the right to buy our fuel, why shouldn't India have the same privilege? This question deserves a thorough examination, and we stand ready to discuss it, including with President Trump,' Putin said.

Significantly, days ahead of Putin’s visit to India, China and Russia held their annual strategic dialogue in which they discussed security interests of both countries, including “Asia-Pacific and neighbouring regions”.

The “two sides also had in-depth communication and coordinated positions on other international and regional issues of mutual concern, including the maintenance of global strategic stability, major-country relations, and the situation in the Asia-Pacific and neighbouring regions, and reached a broad consensus”, a Chinese Foreign Ministry press release here said on Wednesday.