In a global exclusive ahead of his India visit, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to India Today’s Foreign Affairs Editor Geeta Mohan and Senior Executive Editor Anjana Om Kashyap at the Kremlin. President Putin shares the backstory of his viral car ride with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the SCO summit, revealing, ‘It was not pre-planned... I suggested that we should get together just, you know, as a sign of friendship.’ The Russian leader also lauds India’s economic performance, noting the ‘rate of growth is 7.7 percent’, and discusses future cooperation in high technology and energy.
00:57From the Ukraine war to Trump's threats, nothing is off the table in this global super-exclusive.
01:05This mega, agenda-setting interview is already creating global waves.
01:10The world is watching closely because Vladimir Putin has chosen India's most-viewed network, India Today.
01:17Vladimir Putin, like never before, the unmissable interview tonight at 9 p.m.
01:23When you met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in SCO, and there was this picture and video of you and him going in a car, and you're showing it to our viewers right now, you were travelling in a car with him.
01:36What did you discuss in the car?
01:38The biggest global exclusive interview.
01:46First time on world television, Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks his mind.
01:51A man of few words, Putin opens up only and only on India Today.
01:57The entire interview will be air tonight at 9 p.m., but we will right now give you small excerpts of Russian President Putin's interview on his dosti with Prime Minister Modi and his car ride with his dost Modi.
02:12Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on his great friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi and diplomacy with India.
02:19Putin said that he's happy to meet his friend Modi in India.
02:22Stating the special relationship with India, Putin said that the relationship with India is strong and unique.
02:30Putin also opened up about the recently concluded SCO summit where Prime Minister Modi and Putin were seen travelling together in Putin's car.
02:40Putin said that it was him who wanted a car ride with Prime Minister Modi and suggested it.
02:46Putin also said that car ride with Prime Minister Modi was a symbol of dosti between the two leaders.
02:52Listen in to the excerpts from the world-exclusive interview on India Today with Geeta Mohan and Anjana Om Kashyap.
03:10Dear viewers, hello and a very warm welcome.
03:14You're watching Aaj Tak India Today and I'm Anjana Om Kashyap and we're at Kremlin today and you're about to witness history.
03:22A very historic moment.
03:24It is said that when two old friends meet, they have their private jokes.
03:29They have a lot of banter.
03:30They have a lot of fun and they have a bonhomie or camaraderie.
03:35But the others in the room might feel a little uncomfortable.
03:38And why do I say this?
03:39I say this because as the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
03:47The world will be watching very, very closely.
03:51Vladimir Putin is undoubtedly one of the most influential politicians of the world whose decisions don't just affect Russia, but numerous nations across the world.
04:01He's a very compelling and enigmatic figure on the world stage.
04:06It just doesn't get more exciting than this.
04:09Well, that's right, Anjana.
04:11Hello and welcome.
04:12I'm Geeta Mohan.
04:14We have with us a man who is known to be one of the world's longest serving leaders.
04:21He's seen it all through wars and economic recessions, from disintegration of countries to a changed world order, from Boris Yeltsin to Donald Trump,
04:33from Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Manmohan Singh to Narendra Modi.
04:37He's seen the world change right in front of him.
04:42And he's taken Russia through very turbulent times and yet has cemented his position as a force to reckon with.
04:51Thank you so much, President, for doing this with us.
04:54You're in conversation with India Today and Achitak.
04:57That's the President of the Russian Federation for you.
05:01Thank you so much, sir, for joining us on our network.
05:03How are you doing?
05:07Well, I do hope that you'll find it great in Russia and Moscow.
05:16You'll like Moscow and the Kremlin where we're working.
05:19Well, as you can see, everything is according to plan.
05:24On the whole, we're happy with the economic situation and what's most important this month.
05:30I'm very happy that I'm going to meet, as you have just pointed out, my friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
05:38We agreed to meet in India a long time ago.
05:42There's a lot to talk about because the range of our cooperation with India is very huge.
05:48I'm not even talking about history of our relations because this history is of a unique nature.
05:55And I would also like to point out that the path that India has traveled since gaining its independence just over the 77 years, which is a very short span in the scale of history.
06:11And India has managed to travel a great way, and I'm going to dwell on that a little bit later.
06:19But, you know, when we live our daily lives, we hardly notice the changes that are currently afford.
06:26It rarely happens when we notice these changes, but if we have a look back at the history, we'll see that what transpired in India is, to a large extent, a miracle.
06:41Well, I don't think there are many people who have been in India who know that, that the longevity, the life expectancy in India over the 77 years has...
06:52We will talk about longevity in some time from now.
06:55Yes, we're certainly going to talk about that, but be that, certainly our relations with India are developing across different ranges, different avenues.
07:05I'm very happy to have this chance to meet Prime Minister Modi, and not just business ties, but also personal ties.
07:14You can watch this entire interview where we speak about many issues, the whole interview, world-exclusive tonight at 9 p.m.
07:44A very interesting question, because when you met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in SCO, and there was this picture and video of you and him going in a car, and we're showing it to our viewers right now.
08:05You were travelling in a car with him. Was it pre-planned? Or how did it go about? How did it happen? And what did you discuss in the car?
08:15You know, we were talking about the current agenda. It was not pre-planned. We just went outside into the street, and my car was there, and I suggested that we should get together, just, you know, as a sign of friendship, of a comradeship.
08:32There's nothing, you know, no complicated orchestration, just as friends. We got together in one car, and we spoke. Along the road, there was always something to talk about.
08:45And, you know, we had a conversation. We even sat in the car for quite some time, and then I said, yes, we should go, because they're waiting for us. But there's nothing special about that.
08:54It just testifies to the fact that there's a lot we have to talk about, and these topics are of importance to us.
09:01Right. President Sir, the fact that you're going to go to India, you just said that both leaders are going to cement the guarantees that you give each other.
09:11What are the kind of announcements that we can expect? We've heard about technology transfer. We've heard about trade enhancement. What are the solid announcements during this visit?
09:23And I ask you this is because the world, and you know who I mean, would be watching.
09:33Well, the world is going to be watching. I don't think there's anything special about that.
09:41Because, you know, India is a great country, one and a half billion people. It's a developing economy where the rate of growth is 7.7%. This is the first result in the world.
09:55Prime Minister Modi has managed to achieve that, and this says a lot the Indian nation pride in. There's a lot to be proud of.
10:04Of course, there are always detractors, critics who believe that this can be done better, but that said, the result is evident.
10:13We've got a whole plan for cooperation which covers the most important spheres and fields. The most important ones are certainly oriented towards the future, and one of them is high technology.
10:26India and Russia are working together in outer space exploration in energy, nuclear energy in particular, which is well known because, you know, one of the leaders in that field, also shipbuilding, aircraft building.
10:41We have very many interesting directions which are oriented towards the future. Or let's take artificial intelligence. We'll probably talk about that later.
10:53But this is one of the key technologies of the future, which is reshaping the world as we speak, because it manages to multiply things many-fold, but at the same time, it creates certain challenges to be addressed.
11:09And we'll talk about all of that. And as Prime Minister Modi thinks, and what I think, well, we'll choose what is of the greatest significance at this stage,
11:22and will help for that.
11:23Well, of course. But we should probably not announce them right now, because, you know, all of that is going to be announced in the course of the visit. We will present that to the public. And then the colleagues will present all of these agreements to us, and we'll have to give our final approval to these agreements.
11:47What made you really look at that as a strategic interest to recognize the Taliban at a time when the world is still saying they have not given equal rights to women?
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