Modi, Putin affirm 'special relationship' at SCO meet

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on the sidelines of a regional summit in China on Monday in a show of deepening ties when New Delhi's relations with Washington are strained over the purchase of Russian oil.

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The two leaders held talks after attending the key session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation gathering in the port city of Tianjin, where discussions focused on regional stability, bilateral trade and energy cooperation.

In his remarks to open the talks, Modi termed the partnership with Moscow as “special and privileged.” Putin addressed Modi as a “dear friend” and hailed Russia's ties with India as special, friendly and trusting.

“Russia and India have maintained special relations for decades. Friendly, trusting. This is the foundation for the development of our relations in the future,” Putin said. “These relations are absolutely nonpartisan in nature, supported by the overwhelming majority of the peoples of our countries.”

Putin plans to travel to India in December for the 23rd India-Russia annual summit, according to his foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov.

Modi used the SCO meeting to welcome the peace initiatives aimed at halting the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and called on the stakeholders to move forward constructively.

“To end the conflict soonest and establish peace permanently, we need to find out a way. It’s a call of the entire humanity,” Modi said.