Putin’s warning on India-China relations; rejects view that Pakistan is under Beijing’s control

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow would not interfere in the “delicate” relations between India and China, expressing confidence that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping were working to resolve outstanding issues of mutual interest, including long-standing border disputes.While interacting with the media in St. Petersburg, Putin said that Russia maintains strong relations with both New Delhi and Beijing and sees no reason to interfere in the bilateral affairs of the two countries.“Relations between India and China are delicate and multifaceted, and it is not a good idea to interfere in them. Of course, we interact with our friends in both India and China,” Putin said in response to a question from the Press Trust of India.“Both President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi are working hard to resolve all issues of mutual concern, including border relations,” he added.Putin’s remarks came as relations between India and China were severely strained after the 2020 Galwan Valley conflict and a military standoff that lasted for more than four years, and the two countries have taken a series of steps to rebuild relations over the past year.Putin highlighted Russia’s ties with both countries, saying Moscow’s ties with India would not affect its ties with China, just as its growing partnership with Beijing would not harm ties with New Delhi.“As for Russia, we have our own relations with China and India… The relations between Russia and India will not disturb China, and our relations with China will not disturb India,” he said.The Russian president also mentioned the origins of the Russia-India-China framework, saying: “I once proposed that the leaders of India and China meet here, and that’s how Russia-India-China was established.”On relations involving Pakistan, Putin rejected suggestions that Islamabad was under Beijing’s control.“I don’t think so,” he said. “First of all, Pakistan is a big country with multifaceted ties with different countries.”“Of course, it is very important for Pakistan to consider cooperation with the Republic of China, but everyone is developing relations with China,” Putin added.In terms of defense cooperation, Putin highlighted the BrahMos missile program and said Russia had proposed cooperation with India on fifth-generation fighter technology.“We advise our Indian friends to cooperate in fifth-generation technology. But Indian friends say you do it yourselves, we will come on board. We are ready to cooperate with India in this area to provide aircraft, we do not have any problem, any restriction,” he said.Putin also said Russia was ready to expand cooperation on air defense systems and share technical expertise with India. The Russian president said: “Now we are working hard to update the system. This is unique expertise. We are ready to share this technology with our Chinese and Indian friends. We will continue to work in this regard.”