Russian Consul General Ivan Fetisov on Saturday said India and Russia will continue to share a strong bilateral relationship based on trust and mutual respect, adding that Moscow is ready to cooperate with all countries willing to engage constructively.Speaking to PTI Video on the sidelines of the International Business Conclave at Advantage Vidarbha 2026 in Nagpur, Fetisov said Russia’s engagement with India is wide-ranging across many sectors.Responding to a question on India’s growing ties with the United States, he said Russia respects India’s independent foreign policy choices. “We are ready to cooperate with any country that wants to cooperate with Russia. If India wants to cooperate with America, Kazakhstan or Brazil, it depends only on India.“So, I think we have a really good relationship based on trust and mutual respect. That’s important nowadays,” he said.On the broader trajectory of India-Russia relations, Fetisov noted the “enthusiasm” seen during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin in September last year.“I reiterate that we have strong relations with India. We have a lot of areas of communication, but we need to do more every day. So we have great opportunities to become stronger,” he said.On potential cooperation in nuclear energy, including opportunities arising from India’s opening up of the sector, Fetisov described nuclear energy as a key pillar of bilateral engagement and highlighted Russia’s technological capabilities in the sector.“Yes, nuclear energy is a very important area of communication and cooperation… Our state corporation Rosatom is famous all over the world. As you mentioned, we have excellent projects in SMR. More importantly, we can share our technologies, not just sell or buy them. We can work together in this area and achieve good results.”Asked about US President Donald Trump’s claim that India has decided to stop buying Russian oil, Fetisov said official statements from the Russian government should be referred to for clarity.“You need to read the statements of our foreign minister and the Russian president,” he said.Thanking the organizers of the Advantage Vidarbha programme, Fetisov said such platforms help deepen collaboration and engagement.“We had a good conversation with the Chief Minister (Devendra Fadnavis) today. We discussed some infrastructure projects. So such events are really important,” he said.
