PM, Putin to consult more on Afghan, Pak

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New Delhi, March 12: India and Russia on Friday agreed to intensify their consultations on Afghanistan and evolve a joint strategy to meet the challenges posed by terrorism in their proximate neighbourhoods. Both sides signed pacts in defence and civil nuclear energy spheres worth over $10 billion.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who held detailed discussions on regional issues with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here, shared New Delhi’s concerns about terrorism emanating from the AfPak region. In a further indication of the convergence of interests, he reiterated Russia’s decision not to develop military ties with Pakistan.
“[Unlike many other countries], Russia is not maintaining military cooperation with Pakistan as it takes into account the concerns of [our] Indian partners,” Mr Putin said after talks with Dr Singh. Russia’s position is in contrast to that of the United States, which continues to give military aid to Pakistan despite India’s reservations.
Analysts here are of the view that Mr Putin’s visit would have contributed to reinforcement of the New Delhi-Moscow axis in regional and global affairs. His talks with Dr Singh can lead to a hedging strategy involving India, Russia, and possibly Iran and Central Asian states, against the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan when Nato forces begin to withdraw from the war-torn country.
Several pacts were signed on the occasion, including an inter-governmental agreement on atomic energy cooperation, a roadmap for serial construction of Russian-designed nuclear power plants at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere in the country, and an MoU on joint production of satellite navigation equipment for “Glonass”, the Russian equivalent of the American global positioning system, or GPS.
Both sides also finalised and signed 14 supplementary agreements pertaining to costing and technical details of the $2.3-billion Admiral Gorshkov aircraft-carrier, an agreement for the purchase of 29 MiG-29K maritime fighter aircraft worth $1.6 billion, a protocol of cooperation between Gazprom and ONGC in the hydrocarbon sector, two pacts in the field of fertilisers and five in the diamond sector. Joint ventures in the pharmaceutical sector are under consideration.
In his statement after the talks, Dr Singh described Mr Putin as “a great friend of India”. The Prime Minister said: “[He] has been the architect of the strategic partnership between India and Russia, and we owe a deep sense of gratitude to him for bringing our two countries so close to each other.”
Dr Singh added: “[Our] relations with Russia are a key pillar of our foreign policy, and we regard Russia as a trusted and reliable strategic partner. Ours is a relationship that not only stands independent of any other, but whose significance has grown over time.”
 

Ramesh Ramachandran