New Delhi, Sept. 5 -- 'A tiger for Russia's Far East'? Russian president Vladimir Putin, while discussing Russia-India-China (RIC) ties, joked that a 'tiger' could have represented his nation instead of the 'bear' amid the popular "dragon and elephant dance" which Chinese President Xi had coined to describe the relations between the two Asian nations.

Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum 2025, Putin said that the 'bear' had been added by the media after President Xi Jinping came up with the 'dragon-elephant' analogy.

"Of course, "bear" is a symbol of Russia, but we are here - the far east, and the biggest tiger in the world is the local breed here", Putin said, referring to the Amur tiger or Siberian tiger.

"Our relationship with Asi...