Modi-Putin meet: Russia backs India on Kashmir, agrees on no 'outside influence' in internal matters

Russia has extended full support to India on the issue of Kashmir. During the India-Russia Annual Summit on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin discussed a range of issues, including ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in trade and investment, oil and gas, defence, transport infrastructure, people-to-people ties, space, maritime connectivity and nuclear energy. Russia also backed India's latest move to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Here's a quick recap of the Modi-Putin meet in Russia.

PM Modi visits Zvezda shipbuilding complex along with Russian President Vladmir Putin

• Russia has firmly backed India on the issue of Kashmir. Speaking to journalists after the bilateral meet, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said: "Yes this issue did come up during the discussion. Prime Minister Modi thanked the Russian President for his support. From what we understand, Russia stands with India on this issue."
• Both India and Russia agreed on no interference in the internal affairs of UN member countries. "The Sides underlined the primacy of international law and emphasized their commitment to the purposes and the principles stated in the UN Charter including the inadmissibility of interference in the internal affairs of Member States," a joint statement said.
• Before the talks, Modi and Putin had several lighter moments at Far Eastern Federal University on Russky Island. As a special gesture, Putin accompanied Modi to the Zvezda Shipyard in Bolshevik Kamen where the latter was apprised of the shipyard modernisation and latest ship-building technology.
• On the issue of terrorism and cross-border crime, the joint statement said: "The Sides intend to focus particularly on increasing the effectiveness of countering terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, cross-border organised crime, and information security threats, in particular by improving the functionality of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure."
• India and Russia aim to boost maritime communications between Chennai and Vladivostok. "A proposal has been made to have a full-fledged maritime route that serves as a link between Chennai and Vladivostok," PM Modi said during the joint press briefing.
• Both sides have also expressed interest in expanding the participation of Russian businesses in Make in India programme and that of Indian companies in investment projects in Russia, said the joint statement.
• Prime Minister Modi said India and Russia were developing a "true partnership" in the field of nuclear energy. "Due to the increasing localisation of nuclear plants being formed with the cooperation of Russia in India, we are also developing a true partnership in this field," he said. President Putin said the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was the flagship joint project. "The first two units are already operational. Work for the third and fourth units is going as per schedule," he said.
• India and Russia plan to expand nuclear cooperation with other countries. "The Sides highlighted successful cooperation in the construction of the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh and expressed their readiness to expand similar cooperation in third countries," said the joint statement.
• Talking about cooperation in space and military sectors, Putin said, "We are successfully implementing our bilateral programme on military and technical cooperation up to 2020. We are working to update it to extend to another 10 years."  PM Modi said also he shared a "special chemistry" with Putin and was keen on technology transfers so both sides could make military equipment in India at cheaper rates for export to third countries.
• Both India and Russia want to achieve $30 billion worth of trade by 2025. "The Sides expressed satisfaction with the stable mutual growth of trade turnover. To bring it to $30 billion by 2025, they agreed to more actively engage the impressive resource and human resources potential of India and Russia, enhance industrial cooperation, create new technologies and investment partnership, especially in advanced high-tech areas and find new avenues and forms of cooperation," read the joint statement.

Edited by Manoj Sharma

Modi-Putin meet: Kashmir, Chennai-Vladivostok maritime route, space missions among issues discussed