Russia thanks India for drugs, hails partnership

Russia has expressed gratitude to India for sending essential drugs to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak and said that it underscores the “spirit of partnership” between the two countries.Commending India for the supplies, President Vladimir Putin’s Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “The decision of the Indian leadership to send medicines to Russia to help fight the coronavirus is in line with the spirit of partnership between the two countries was received with a sense of gratitude.” “Moscow is pleased and grateful for the decision of the Indian government to deliver a batch of medicines to Russia to fight the coronavirus. We regard this decision of India as an effective step towards implementing the agreements on cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic reached during the telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25 this year,” Peskov noted. “Moscow is well aware that India, which itself is going through difficult times in terms of fighting the epidemic threat, made this decision guided by the common spirit of partnership between the two countries,” he added.PM Modi has spoken to various world leaders over the past one month for a coordinated fight against the virus. Besides medical supplies, India contributed $10 million to the SAARC COVID-19 Fund to help borrow the much-needed funds by the member states to deal with the crisis. India and Russia share a comprehensive strategic partnership covering areas such as defence, energy, technology, manufacturing, and trade and commerce. During the 11th BRICS Summit in Brazil, President Putin had invited Mr Modi to the Victory Day celebrations in Russia in May this year, which affirms the special relationship the countries share.The COVID-19 pandemic has killed nearly 70000 people and infected over two million worldwide. While the governments continue to enforce strict lockdown measures, some countries like Italy and Spain have seen a decline in new cases, raising hope of the COVID curve flattening. In India, nearly 500 people were killed, and some 14,000 infected, while in Russia, 200 killed and 20000 affected. The two countries have shut their borders to stop the spread of the virus, while there were some signs of success, the concerns remain. Mr Modi has called for “humane globalization” to deal with extreme world disasters like COVID-19. Several countries and world leaders have commended his efforts.