'India Actively Discussing': Putin Says Countries Eyeing Russia’s Northern Sea, Threatens Seizures Of European Ships

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said India is among the countries showing growing interest in cooperating with Russia on the Northern Sea Route (NSR), an Arctic maritime route Moscow has been seeking to develop for international shipping.

Putin said Russia remained ready to work with countries interested in the route, while stressing that such cooperation would be carried out within the framework of international maritime law.

“Although Russia has consistently voiced and continues to reaffirm its readiness to cooperate and leverage the advantages of the Northern Sea Route, strictly within the bounds of existing international maritime law, we see growing interests from countries wishing to engage with us on this front,” Putin said.

“These partners

include, above all, China, India, and other nations who are actively discussing these matters with us,” he added.

India Among Countries Discussing Northern Sea Route

Putin’s remarks place India among the countries that Russia says are actively discussing cooperation linked to the Northern Sea Route.

His comments, however, referred to growing interest and discussions and did not indicate that India had entered into any new agreement on the route.

The Russian President made the remarks during a visit to a Russian warship taking part in a naval exercise in the Pacific, according to The Associated Press.

Putin Calls Western Vessel Seizures ‘Piracy’

Putin described Western moves to detain vessels linked to Russia as a breach of international maritime law and warned that Moscow would retaliate.

“It’s nothing but piracy and robbery,” Putin said, according to AP.

“If this is done, we will be forced to respond in kind.”

He said Russia’s response would not necessarily take place in the waters where a Russian vessel had been seized.

Moscow, he said, could respond “in any area where we see it as necessary and appropriate,” including the Pacific.

The comments came as Russia has increasingly used warships to escort its commercial vessels, amid tensions over Western measures targeting Russian-linked shipping.

Russia Warns Over ‘Shadow Fleet’

According to AP, the Pacific Fleet chief told Putin that Russia’s navy was ready to begin inspections of commercial ships serving what Moscow describes as “unfriendly nations” and their so-called shadow fleet.

Russia is believed to operate hundreds of ships to circumvent sanctions imposed after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

France and the UK have detained tankers suspected of belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet, while the European Union has sanctioned hundreds of such vessels.

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former President and current deputy head of the country’s Security Council, also warned that Moscow could take a broader approach against merchant vessels linked to hostile nations.