Old friend Russia part of India's anti-terror war: Modi

Benaulim: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said Russia, "an old friend of India", has cleared its stand on terrorism and backs New Delhi in its fight against terror.

"Russia's clear stand on the need to combat terrorism mirrors our own," Modi said in a joint address to the media with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Modi said he deeply appreciated Russia's support of "our actions to fight cross-border terrorism that threatens our entire region".

The remarks are significant as in the wake of attacks by Pakistan-based terrorists on Indian Army camps, to which New Delhi responded with surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control (LoC) in Pakistan-held Kashmir.

India has also launched a diplomatic blitz to isolate Pakistan, a country it accuses of sponsoring and aiding cross-border terrorism.

The Prime Minister said the ties between the India and Russia were "truly privileged and unique" and used a Russian maxim on friendship, remarking that in Russia they say "an old friend is better than two new friends".

He praised President Putin's continuous personal attention on strengthening ties with India.

"Your personal attention has been a source of strength to our relationship, your leadership provided stability and substance to our strategic partnership. Ours is a truly privileged relationship."

The Prime Minister said he and Putin just concluded "highly productive" talks.

The two leaders also inaugurated units 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam nuclear plant after India and Russia signed 16 agreements, including on energy, defence and economic cooperation, and also announced deals across different sectors.

Modi and Putin earlier held a closed-door bilateral meeting as part of the annual India-Russia summit.

The India-Russian summit is being held on the sidelines of the eighth BRICS summit.