NEW DELHI: Days before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit here, the country’s ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, has hinted that pacts to boost defense cooperation between the two countries would be signed during the trip.
“There has never been a Summit without any defense agreement. These will be important agreements in the field of our military exchanges,” he said when asked whether there will be agreements on defense cooperation during Putin’s visit.
Putin will be here for the annual Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11.
“There was some kind of a lull in our bilateral exchanges, but now our relations have entered the stage of strategic and privileged partnership,” the Russian envoy said on the sidelines of a book release event here.
Responding to Modi’s ‘Make in India’ pitch, Kadakin said that Russia has been doing so for “many many decades now”.
“Our joint efforts will correspond completely with the ‘Make in India’ appeal that (Modi) has made. But that has been our way for long. We produced Sukhois and other military equipment, including BRAHMOS (missile). Russia has been following this directive for many, many decades now,” he said.
The book, ‘Indian Poem’, was released in the presence of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) President Lokesh Chandra and eminent art scholar Kapila Vatsyayan.
It contains a collection of paintings by eminent 19th century Russian artist, Vasily Vereshchagin. Meanwhile, at a dialogue to discuss Indo-Russia ties, senior member of the Russian Parliament, Vyacheslav Nikonov, remarked that the BJP-led government is interested in promoting “fruitful relations” between the two countries.
“I met your National Security Advisor Ajit Doval this morning and I am sure the new government in India is also interested in promoting fruitful relations,” he said.
Stating that the time is ripe for Russia to make “bold moves”, Nikonov said that the support for the Putin government is higher than ever before.
“For Russia, any relationship is welcome at this point.
The country is up for bold moves and strong initiatives as the support for the government is higher than ever before. Those who slapped sanctions on the country misunderstood the mood of the Russian society,” he said.
The two-day dialogue, that was organized by New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation in collaboration with the Russkiy Mir Foundation, was attended by a number of Indian and Russian strategic experts.–PTI
