PM Modi congratulates Vladimir Putin for re-election as Russia's president

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin received congratulations from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on securing a second six-year term.

"Warm congratulations to H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin on his re-election as the President of the Russian Federation." "Look forward to working together to further strengthen the time-tested Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia in the years to come," the Prime Minister tweeted.

According to official results after almost all the ballots were counted, Putin won another term as president on Sunday after garnering 87% of the vote, by far the largest landslide in post-Soviet Russian history. Over 77% of voters turned out, making this the highest turnout in Russian post-Soviet history.

Given that the US was effectively at war with Russia in Ukraine, the Kremlin said that Putin's reelection demonstrated that the Russian people were united behind him and that Moscow was uninterested in Washington's criticism.

More from World

"This is the most eloquent confirmation of the level of support from the population of the country for its president, and its consolidation around him," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Given that Putin had imprisoned his rivals and barred others from competing against him, the White House declared that the Russian elections were "obviously not free nor fair".