On 6 October, Russian President Vladimir Putin heaped praise on India, calling the country’s leadership “self-directed” and advocating New Delhi’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
In his remarks during the 20th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Putin also made scathing comments against the West and covered a wide range of topics, including the Ukraine conflict and Russia’s nuclear doctrine.
Remarks on India
Putin said the West is trying to label “anyone who is unwilling to blindly follow the Western elite” as the enemy.
Speaking about countries targeted by the West, Putin said, “At a certain point in time, they tried to do the same with India. Now they are flirting, of course.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin backed India’s inclusion in a reformed United Nations Security Council, in a grievance-filled speech at an annual discussion forum.
— Moneycontrol (@moneycontrolcom) October 6, 2023
Here’s what he said 👇https://t.co/wkG1Qv9kHQ#NarendraModi #Russia #UNSC
Showering praise on the Indian leadership, he added, “I want to say that the Indian leadership is self-directed. It is led by the national interests. I think that [the West’s] attempts make no sense.”
According to Putin, “Anyone is at risk, including China, and at a certain point, even India could become that.”
Putin said that the Indian leadership is "self-directed" and led by the country's national interests. Check out other important points of the address https://t.co/u3dWR4ZOXu
— WION (@WIONews) October 6, 2023
Permanent Membership of UNSC
Putin also advocated India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council along with that of Brazil and South Africa.
The Russian president remarked that some countries of the world must be represented in the UNSC as they are acquiring great significance in international affairs.
He said that due to their sheer power, these nations influence the way key international issues are decided, and thus deserve their rightful place in the UN body.
On the West, Nuclear Testing, Ukraine War
At the meeting, Putin commented on the West’s arrogance, saying that the West’s “desire to drive the world into a situation of constant confrontation between ‘us’ and ‘them’ is a vicious legacy of the 20th century. It is a product of Western political culture.”
“The West always needs an enemy,” he remarked.
When asked about Russia’s need to change its nuclear doctrine, Putin said, “There is no situation today in which the existence of the Russian state would be under threat.”
Additionally, while saying he was not ready to comment on whether Russia needed to resume nuclear weapons testing, the Russian president said, “theoretically, we (Russia) could revoke ratification” of the international nuclear test ban treaty.
Established in 2004, the Valdai Discussion Club is a Moscow-based think tank and discussion forum.
The club is named after Lake Valdai, which is close to Veliky Novgorod, where its first meeting took place.