U.S. and Allies are 'Jealous' of Putin Meeting with Modi

Vladimir Putin's spokesman has claimed that the U.S. and its allies are "jealous" of the Russian president's meeting with Narendra Modi.

India's prime minister has left for Russia in his first visit to the country since the beginning of Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin press secretary, said on Sunday that the West is closely watching Modi's upcoming visit, according to reports by Russian state-owned news agency Tass.

"They are jealous – that means they are closely monitoring it. Their close monitoring means they attach great importance to it. And they are not mistaken, there is something to attach great importance to," Peskov said.

The Indian foreign ministry said the two leaders would hold bilateral talks on issues including defense and trade. The Kremlin said that no topics were off limits for discussion during their meeting.

India, which is heavily dependent on Russia for its weapon supplies, emerged as a major buyer of Russian oil since Putin's invasion of Ukraine led to a flurry of Western sanctions. It now gets more than 40 percent of its oil imports from Russia

India insists it maintains a neutral stance regarding the war in Ukraine, neither condemning nor condoning Russia's bloody invasion, and has called for peace talks to end the bloodshed.

This is the 22nd annual Bilateral Summit between both countries. The 21st bilateral Summit was held in December 2021 when Putin visited New Delhi.

Michael Clarke, Visiting Professor of Defence Studies at King's College London told Newsweek the talks are a "matter of interest" to the rest of the world.

"Russia's trade with India has jumped by about a third in the last year as the effects of Russia's invasion of Ukraine have had ripple effects. But India's trade with the US is still twice that size at almost $130 billion a year, and Modi's internal strength is much diminished since the kick-back against him in the recent Indian elections.

"Given the rapidly increasing tensions with China, Modi knows that Western leaders are not the only ones closely watching what he does in Moscow. If Peskov thinks that Western leaders will be 'jealous' about this visit, he should keep a closer eye on what Beijing will be thinking - it will be a lot more important than jealousy."

The bilateral talks come amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. At least seven people were killed and others injured after a daylight Russian missile attack on Kyiv on Monday, 8 July.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia launched over 40 missiles on cities across the country. The Ukrainian military said Russia launched multiple ballistic and cruise missiles in Kyiv.

Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which fly at 10 times the speed of sound, were allegedly used in the attack, according to Kyiv's forces. The brutal attack hit Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, Ukraine's biggest children's medical facility.

"This is one of the worst attacks. You can see: it's a children's hospital," Vitali Klitschko told Reuters news agency in the aftermath of the strike.

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