Modi praises Putin, starting Starmer visit on awkward note
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tweet in Russian had praised Russian leader Vladimir Putin's commitment to deepening ties.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW DELHI – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a warm birthday message to Russia’s Vladimir Putin just hours before British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s arrival, providing an awkward start to a visit meant to be focused on trade.
Mr Modi said in a tweet on Oct 7 that he had spoken with “my friend President Putin” and wished him well, praising the Russian leader’s commitment to deepening ties.
The post underscored the difficult balance the British prime minister must strike on his trade mission to India at a time when Mr Modi has been burnishing relations with a top UK adversary.
Mr Starmer deflected a question about Mr Modi’s call with the Russian president on the plane to India. “Just for the record, I haven’t sent birthday congratulations to Putin,” he told reporters.
Mr Starmer is leading a delegation of 125 British business, academic and cultural leaders to Mumbai, as he seeks to take advantage of a long-awaited free trade agreement
The pact removed tariffs on more than 90 per cent of UK goods, laying the ground for an expansion in the trade between the two countries, which stood at US$22 billion (S$28.5 billion) in 2024.
The deal represents a vote of confidence in free trade by two of the world’s biggest economies, even as US President Donald Trump pursues a more protectionist agenda that has involved levying tariffs on goods from India, as well as the UK.
The UK’s premier has thus far avoided criticising Mr Modi over his relationship with Mr Putin, refusing to follow Mr Trump’s more aggressive stance which has seen a punitive tariff of 50 per cent
Mr Trump has called for European countries to take similar action, claiming that India’s oil purchases from Russia are funding the war in Ukraine.
Mr Starmer, for his own part, has urged nations to ramp up the pressure on Mr Putin to force him to the negotiating table and end Russia’s invasion.
The UK deployed Royal Air Force jets to Poland in September after Nato allies blamed Russia for a spate of drone incursions into their airspace.
The British prime minister said the UK’s focus regarding “clamping down on Russian energy” was on sanctioning the so-called shadow fleet of tankers distributing Russian oil.
“We’ve been one of the lead countries in relation to the shadow fleet, working with other countries,” Mr Starmer said.
On Oct 7, Mr Modi and Mr Putin reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the “special and privileged strategic partnership” between their two countries, according to a statement from Mr Modi’s government.
The prime minister said that he looked forward to welcoming Mr Putin in New Delhi for the annual India-Russia summit, without providing details on its timing.
Mr Starmer’s visit is the first such trade mission by a UK leader to India since 2016, when Ms Theresa May led a delegation of British business leaders to the country.
Mr Starmer’s immediate predecessor, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, travelled to India in 2023 to attend Group of 20 meetings.
The UK side described its delegation as the largest ever brought to India by a British prime minister.
The group included executives from Barclays, British Airways, BT Group, HSBC Holdings, KPMG, London Stock Exchange Group, Revolut and Rolls-Royce Holdings, as well as representatives of numerous universities and business groups.
Mr Starmer emphasised the benefit for British consumers in his efforts to expand Indian market share for UK companies.
“Growth in India for them means more choice, opportunity and jobs at home for the British people,” he said in a statement ahead of the trip. BLOOMBERG
