For complimentary actual time breaking news notifies sent out directly to your inbox register to our breaking news e-mails Sign up to our totally free breaking news e-mails Narendra Modi has actually signed up with the handful of foreign leaders to praise Vladimir Putin on his triumph in Russia’s sham governmental election, an indication of the 2 nations’ warm ties regardless of Moscow’s worldwide seclusion following its intrusion of Ukraine. The 71-year-old ex-KGB spy won by a landslide in Russia’s governmental elections, where his only challengers declined to openly criticise him, getting 87 percent of the vote and sealing his grip on the nation for the next 6 years. Western democracies have actually badly criticised the three-day-long elections as neither complimentary nor reasonable due to mass censorship and the persecution of any real opposition to Mr Putin’s program. Russia’s closest allies– a little club consisting of China, North Korea and Iran– have actually hurried to praise Mr Putin on winning a 5th term in power. India explains itself as non-aligned to this East-West axis, and its decades-long tactical ties to Russia have actually just continued to grow given that the start of the Ukraine war, while the Modi federal government has actually likewise pursued brand-new defence and trade relate to the United States and European countries. “Warm congratulations to H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation,” the Indian prime minister composed on X. “Look forward to collaborating to even more enhance the tried and true Special & Privileged Strategic Partnership in between India and Russia in the years to come,” he included. Cultural ties in between India and Russia return numerous generations, and in more current years the 2 nations have actually worked carefully on defence, nuclear and area cooperation. India, a significant recipient of Russian military hardware, considerably broadened its purchases of Russian petroleum after Western countries brought sanctions and a cost cap in reaction to Putin’s intrusion of Ukraine. India ended up being the world’s prominent importer of Russian petroleum in 2015, according to Kpler market information evaluated by The Independent, importing a typical 1.75 million barrels daily at a 140 percent boost in 2022. The value of India’s ongoing financial investment has actually not been lost on the Kremlin, which has actually consistently applauded India for withstanding global pressure to decrease or serious ties. “India pursues an independent diplomacy, which is difficult in the modern-day world. India, with a population of one and a half billion, has the right to this,” Mr Putin stated in January. “We have excellent relationships with India, and our faith in India is shown by the reality that Moscow is New Delhi’s biggest foreign financier,” he included. A month previously, Mr Putin hosted the Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the Kremlin in December 2023. Throughout the conference, Mr Putin stated: “Everything remains in your hands and I can state that we achieve success since of your direct assistance.” China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and North Korea signed up with India in congratulating the Russian president. “We securely think that under the tactical assistance of president Xi Jinping and president Putin, China-Russia relations will continue to move on,” Chinese Foreign Ministry representative Lin Jian informed press reporters. “China and Russia are each other’s biggest neighbours and detailed tactical partners in the brand-new age,” he stated. India and China, in addition to Russia, are members of the BRICS group of emerging economies that intends to challenge United States supremacy of the international economy. Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman used his congratulations on Mr Putin’s “definitive” success and the Kremlin stated the 2 guys revealed preparedness on the telephone to pursue their “efficient coordination” in the OPEC+ oil manufacturers group. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi, both implicated by the West of providing weapons to Russia, worried their desire for additional growth of bilateral relations with Moscow in Mr Putin’s 5th term.