NEW DELHI: The India-Russia relationship has “withstood the test of time”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at a joint press conference with visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev here yesterday. The many agreements signed between India and Russia, he said, marked “a new milestone in the history of cooperation with Russia”.
Manmohan said: “It’s a relationship that has withstood the test of time.” He said Russia had consistently supported India in “diverse areas”. Manmohan said the large number of agreements that were signed marked a new milestone in the history of cooperation with Russia, which was also helping India’s “human space flight program”.
He added that dialogue between the two countries had “intensified considerably”. Stating that the terrorist attack in Mumbai “present a threat to pluralistic societies”, the prime minister said: “There is much Russia and India can do to promote global peace.”
India and Russia signed 10 major pacts, including an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation. Under the nuclear agreement Russia will build four new atomic reactors in the Kudankulam nuclear plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Medvedev said.
The agreement also covers construction of Russian-designed nuclear power plants at new sites in India. The Russian president said the energy sector was a priority for both sides. “In this context, the nuclear energy cooperation is of utmost importance and is very productive (for both sides),” he said.
The nuclear agreement was initialed in January 2007 but has not been signed yet because of the need for a waiver by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and an India-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Both came through earlier this year.
This is India’s third nuclear cooperation pact with another country. The South Asian nation inked civil nuclear cooperation pacts with France and United States and France in September and October respectively.
Besides signing a joint declaration, India and Russia finalized pacts in the areas of space, defense, finance and tourism. An agreement was signed between the Indian Space Research Organization and the Russian Federal Space Agency on joint activities in the field of human space flight program.
Medvedev, the first head of state to visit India after the Mumbai terrorist attacks that claimed over 200 lives, offered New Delhi all possible cooperation to combat terrorism. “The terrorist threat is not over for our country. We are ready to have cooperation (with India) in all areas with the aim of preventing such terror attacks,” he said.
Besides confirming the strong Indo-Russian ties, Medvedev’s visit reflects Moscow’s keenness to retain its position as India’s primary supplier of weaponry, which at present faces strong competition from United States and Israel. Russia faces competition in the nuclear field too, as since the lifting of ban on nuclear commerce with India, United States and France have inked nuke pacts with India.
Describing Medvedev’s visit as a “historic occasion,” Manmohan said: “Our strategic partnership with Russia is a vital anchor of our foreign policy. It is a relationship that has withstood test of time. It is a relationship that is based on strong mutual trust, confidence and convergence of interests.”
India and Russia reaffirmed their “commitment to securing a comprehensive, lasting and just settlement of Arab-Israeli conflict through a negotiated solution on the generally recognized international legal base,” leading to “creation of a sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine living within secure and recognized borders, side by side at peace with Israel.”
They also called for an end to “expansion of Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territories and for an early and significant easing of restrictions on free movement of persons and goods within Palestine.”
— With input from agencies
