Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday showered lavish praise on Russian President Vladimir Putin, putting on display bonhomie between the two leaders. Accepting Russia's highest civilian order announced for his promotion of ties between the two countries, PM Modi said President Putin was a "source of great strength" for the India-Russia friendship. PM Modi has thanked the Russian president for the award.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he knew from the start that the massive investigation into links between US President Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow would come up empty. "We have said from the beginning that (special counsel Robert Mueller's) commission would not find anything. Nobody knows better than us, Russia did not meddle in any elections," Putin said.

The new joint venture between India and Russia to manufacture the Kalashnikov assault rifles' 200 series will be able to fulfil Indian security agencies' requirement for small arms, Russian President Vladmir Putin said in a message read out by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Uttar Pradesh's Amethi today. The AK-203 will replace the INSAS rifles being used by the Army and other forces.