- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi met Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday (16) on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where the latter, despite knowing that the Indian leader would turn 72 on Saturday (17), did not wish him.
Explaining why he could not wish his “dear friend” for his birthday, Putin said it was against the Russian tradition to offer congratulation to somebody in advance.
Had a wonderful meeting with President Putin. We got the opportunity to discuss furthering India-Russia cooperation in sectors such as trade, energy, defence and more. We also discussed other bilateral and global issues. pic.twitter.com/iHW5jkKOW0
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 16, 2022
“I would like to wish India all the best. I also know that tomorrow, my dear friend, you are about to celebrate your birthday. As per Russian tradition, we never offer congratulations in advance. So, I cannot do that right now,” the Russian leader said.
“But I would like you to know that we know about that. And we wish you all the best. We wish all the best to the friendly Indian nation and we wish prosperity to India under your leadership,” he added.
#WATCH | My dear friend, tomorrow you are about to celebrate your birthday…,says Russian President Vladimir Putin to PM Modi ahead of his birthday
(Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/93JWy2H43S
— ANI (@ANI) September 16, 2022
It was the first in-person meeting between Modi and Putin since the war in Ukraine broke out in February. While the Indian prime minister said during the talks that this is not an era of war but peace, the Russian president told him that he understands India’s concerns about the war.
India has not condemned Russia, one of its time-tested allies, over the war and has come under pressure from the West, which has sanctioned Moscow, for maintaining its energy ties with it.
The Samarkand summit was the SCO’s first in-person one in two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was held on September 15 and 16.
Apart from Modi and Putin, other leaders who took part in the summit were Chinese president Xi Jinping, Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan, among others.
