MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Moscow has the opportunity to build partnerships not only with India and China but also with Latin America and Africa, asserting that it is impossible to “fence off” a country like Russia from the outside.
Putin, during a meeting with young entrepreneurs here on Thursday, said that the world is big and diverse.
“You have just mentioned China and India. Why only China and India? It is also in Latin America. Perhaps, Africa today is still sleeping, but it is waking up, 1.5 billion people live there. What about Southeast Asia,” he was quoted as saying by Russia’s state-run Tass news agency.
Russia has the opportunity to build partnerships not only with China and India, but also with Latin America, as well as Africa, which “is still sleeping, but is about waking up”, Putin said.
Bilateral ties with Russia are a key pillar of India’s foreign policy.
India sees Russia as a longstanding and time-tested friend that has played a significant role in its economic development and security.
Apparently referring to the economic sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow following its military operation in Ukraine, Putin said “it is impossible to fence off a country like Russia from the outside.”
Present-day Russia’s mission is to “get back and strengthen” its sovereignty and territories, he said.
“It looks like our mission, too, is to get back and strengthen, and if we proceed from the fact that these core values are the basis of our existence, we will definitely succeed in achieving the goals ahead of us,” Putin said.
Amidst the European Union’s calls to look for alternatives to Russia’s energy supply, Putin said that the abandonment of Russian energy resources is unlikely in the coming years.
Rejection of Russian energy resources in recent years appears to be unlikely, he said.
“As regards abandonment of our energy resources, the probability is low in several years to come and nobody knows what will occur during several years. Nobody will set concrete plugs in wells, there is no such need,” Putin said. —PTI

Press Trust of India