MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reaffirming the strong and time-tested nature of relations between Moscow and New Delhi last week. Putin disclosed details of the exchange during a meeting with members of the Russian govt, according to the official website of the Kremlin.Putin underlined the stability of Russian-Indian relations, describing them as “based on a national consensus.” He went on to commend India’s achievements in governance and economic growth under Modi’s leadership. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, India is pursuing a completely independent, sovereign policy and, most importantly, is achieving very good results in the economic sphere. India is demonstrating the highest economic growth rates among the world’s major economies,” Putin said.As reported by TV BRICS, the call came shortly after Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to Modi on his 75th birthday. In his message, he emphasised the Indian leader’s personal contribution to strengthening bilateral ties. “You (Narendra Modi) are making a great personal contribution to strengthening the special privileged strategic partnership between our countries and developing mutually beneficial Russian-Indian cooperation in various areas,” Putin noted. ANI