Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday sent out a congratulatory message to the newly elected president of India, Droupadi Murmu.
What Happened: On Thursday, Murmu was elected as the first-ever tribal president of the country as Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s ruling party scooped up over 60% of the total vote value in the parliament for their preferred candidate.
Following this, many congratulatory messages poured in from the world leaders, including one from Putin.
In a message to Murmu, Putin said, “We attach much importance to the relations of special privileged strategic partnership with India. I hope your activities as the head of state will promote the further development of the Russian-Indian political dialogue and productive cooperation in different areas for the benefit of our friendly nations and in the interests of stronger international stability and security.”
India has been reluctant to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine directly. Although it provided preliminary aid to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion, it never took any firm stance against Putin’s military action.
While China reaffirmed its support for the Kremlin, India even abstained from voting in the United Nations General Assembly on a draft resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council in April.
Russia also said at the BRICS Summit that its trade with China, India, Brazil, and South Africa jumped over 38% in the first three months of the year, despite the “politically motivated sanctions” from the West for the invasion of Ukraine.
The country has also been piling up on Russian oil amid the global sanctions, silently showing support for its bilateral ties with Putin.
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