S Jaishankar’s remarks came in the backdrop of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent India visit, which he said was about reimagining relationships.
“No Country Has Veto On Our Ties”: S Jaishankar On Whether Putin Visit Irks US
S Jaishankar’s remarks came in the backdrop of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent India visit, which he said was about reimagining relationships.
- Edited by:Chandrajit Mitra
- India News
- Dec 06, 2025 14:27 pm IST
Read Time:3 mins
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Summary is AI-generated, newsroom-reviewed
- India’s ties with Russia remain its biggest and steadiest global partnership, says Jaishankar
- No country can veto India’s relations with other nations, he adds
- Jaishankar sees a US-India trade deal as achievable with reasonable terms soon
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Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has defended India’s freedom of choice to choose its global partners, asserting that New Delhi’s ties with Moscow had been the biggest and steadiest in a world fraught with geopolitical ups and downs.
“For any country to expect to have a veto in how we develop our relations with others is not a reasonable proposition. Others can expect the same,” he said while speaking to NDTV’s CEO and Editor-In-Chief Rahul Kanwal at the HT Leadership Summit this morning.
India has always maintained that it has multiple relationships, Jaishankar said, stressing the need for partnerships with as many players as possible. “We have a freedom of choice. We talk about what is called strategic autonomy. And that continues. I cannot imagine why anybody would have reason to expect the contrary,” he added.
Read: India-US Trade Deal Soon? S Jaishankar’s “Extremely Judicious” Response
Jaishankar’s remarks came in the backdrop of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent India visit, which he said was about reimagining relationships. Asked if the high-level visit complicates India’s ties with the US, the minister said that he wouldn’t go to the Western press for an objective assessment for a reading on Putin.
It’s crucial for India to maintain cooperation with as many players as possible and have that freedom of choice to bolster its position in the world, the minister said.