President Vladimir Putin asserted on Thursday that Russia's 'trust-based' relations with India -- which he described as one of its 'closest friends' -- will not be diluted by Moscow's growing ties with Pakistan and other countries.
During an interaction, Putin told PTI that there is no other country in the world that Russia has 'deep cooperation' in delicate areas such as missiles, and it benefits from cooperation with India.
But at the same time, Putin sidestepped a question on Kashmir, and said 'it is up to you' to assess whether Pakistan is fuelling terrorism in the Indian state.
"But no matter where the threat comes, it is unacceptable and we will always support India in its fight against terrorism," he added.
Putin further said that just because Russia has a 'special relationship' with India, it does not mean India should be restricted in having contacts with other 'partnering countries. This is ridiculous'.
"We do not have any tight (military) relations with Pakistan. The US, do you have (close relations)?," he said, speaking through an interpreter.
"And for sure our relations with Pakistan have no impact on trade between India and Russia."
Sitting around a rectangular table with a select group of global news agency editors, the 64-year-old Russian leader took questions one by one on subjects related not only of interest to the editors' countries but also of wider global concerns such as Syria, US President Donald Trump and the future of an emerging multi-polar world.
"India is a huge country of more than 1 billion population. Russia is also a huge country. Both Russia and India have a lot of context and mutual interests. We are respectful toward all Indian interests," he said, citing the deep defence relations between the two countries.
"I don't think we should push figures here in our military cooperation because it has an unprecedented level in its volume and quality. (But) there is no other country in the world that we have such deep cooperation in delicate areas such as missiles, and we benefit with cooperation with India. And this results from our trust-based relations with India," he said.
He did not elaborate, but this was a clear reference to the Russia's long willingness to share high-end defence technology including missile technology with India, which most other countries restrict.
On a question if Russia will use its influence to get Pakistan to stop terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, he said, "We will always support India in its fight against terrorism. I believe Pakistan is taking immense steps to stabilise the situation in the country."
He noted that India and Russia, as part of their summit, are 'having a frank dialogue on all these threats. India for us is one of our closest friends. We not only understand each other but also support each other'.
The interaction was held at the Konstantin Palace, a sprawling complex of grand buildings filled with 18th century paintings, porcelain, lawns, waterways and pavilions overlooking the Gulf of Finland.
'Russia has never been involved in election hacking'
Putin rejected suggestions that elections anywhere could be manipulated by hackers, and denied that his government had ever done it or would do so.
He, however, conceded that some 'patriotic' individuals could have carried out cyber attacks in the West to pay back for what he said was its 'Russo-phobic hysteria'.
"If they have patriotic leanings, they may try to add their contribution to the fight against those who speak badly about Russia," he said during an exclusive interaction with editors of international news agencies.
"Theoretically it's possible."
But he quickly distanced himself from suggestions that the Russian state was involved in election hacking.
"We never engaged in that on a state level, and have no intention of doing so," he said when asked if Russian hackers could try to influence the German parliamentary elections later this year.
Russian hacking of elections has been at the centre of a controversy since the US elections that gave Donald Trump the presidency.
United States intelligence agencies accuse Russia of hacking into Democratic Party emails, helping Trump win against his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Putin said that in any case hackers cannot possibly sway election outcomes because the electorate is not so easily manipulated.
"I'm deeply convinced that no hackers can radically influence another country's election campaign. No hackers can influence election campaigns in any country of Europe, Asia or America," he said.
He said it's also possible that Russia could have been framed by hackers from other countries.
"I can imagine that some do it deliberately, staging a chain of attacks in such a way as to cast Russia as the origin of such an attack," Putin said. "Modern technologies allow that to be done quite easily."
