Putin welcomes India-Middle East-Europe connectivity project that would complement INSTC

Russian President Vladimir Putin has welcomed the India-Middle East-Europe connectivity initiative, emphasising its logistical advantages.

Putin said the project would complement the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which would, in turn, benefit Moscow.

“I believe that this will only benefit us. I believe that this will only help us develop logistics,” Putin said in his address to the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Tuesday.

The Russian president said the India-Middle East-Europe connectivity project would help his country develop logistics and added that the project had been under discussion for several years.

Putin, however, chided the US over its participation. “Americans jumped on this train at the last moment. But for them, I don't see much point in being in this project. Only, perhaps, from the point of view of business interest,” he claimed.

His remarks came after India, the US, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the EU on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding to establish the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor that would rival China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The signing took place on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi.

Putin’s remarks are significant as they came before his proposed trip to China in October. Russia, which has not joined the BRI, is of the view that it has several corridors to connect it globally, including through its territory.

Saudi Arabia, a key pillar of the proposed corridor, recently used INSTC for the first time to trade with Russia. Moscow had played a key role in the induction of Saudi Arabia as a new member of BRICS. Simultaneously, Russia’s ties with the UAE, another pillar of the new corridor, are on an upswing. The UAE has also joined BRICS as a new member.

INSTC has played a pivotal role in pushing India-Russia trade since last year. During a visit by deputy NSA Vikram Misri to Tehran and later Kazakhstan this year, it was decided to push various arteries of INSTC to connect Central Asia with India besides Russia.