Russian President Vladimir Putin was received by PM Narendra Modi at the New Delhi airport tarmac on Thursday evening , breaking protocol and signalling India’s intent to put the “special” back in the strategic partnership between India and Russia.

This is Putin’s first visit to “old friend” India in four years — or since the start of the conflict with Ukraine.Putin, in an interview with India Today in Russia just hours ahead of his visit, questioned the US, saying that if it had the right to buy Russian fuel, “why shouldn’t India have the same privilege”.

The Indian PM “does not succumb to pressure” from any country, including the US, Putin said in his interview, and emphasised the seven-decade-old friendship with India, calling the partnership “stable, evolving and critical in a rapidl

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