“Long-range national and geopolitical interests of Russia and India largely coincide. “Our cooperation helps stabilize the situation not only in the Asia-Pacific region but also promotes a healthier political climate throughout the world.” “India’s foreign policy has conserved its very close strategic relationship with Russia. The challenge lies in the field of bilateral trade, ensuring energy security and delays in fulfilling commitment for transfer of defence equipments may work as an issue for the future. India and Russia have identified high value and hi-tech items for cooperation like information technology, diamonds, energy etc. Under the framework of energy security, India and Russia are also cooperating in nuclear energy. The historical perspective to defence relations between our countries is being taken further by the successful development of the Brahmos cruise missile. We also seek to bring about greater synergy between the scientific capabilities and potentialities of both countries.”

An important challenge lies in the form that in future balance of power in the world, India would be pressed to make choices in favour of one or the other great powers at least on specific issues.

Background of Relations

India and Russia observed the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations on April 13, 1997.

After the disintegration of the USSR and the emergence of Russia as an independent State, Russia declared itself to be “State-continuator” of the erstwhile USSR. India recognised Russia as the successor-State to the former Soviet Union. Our relations are multi-faceted and encompass different sectors including political consultations, economic and commercial relations and cooperation in trade and economy, science and technology, culture, education and defence. Relations with Russia are an important foreign policy priority for India. The need for close relations with India has also been referred to by President Putin who has stressed the geo-political significance of Indo-Russian relations.

Concerns of India and Russia

• Moscow has viewed the growing links between Pakistan and the Taliban Regime in Afghanistan and the role that Islamabad and Kandahar have played in arming, training and supporting fundamentalist Islamic groups in Central Asia and Chechnya with growing anxiety, anger and concern. It is no secret that Chechen terrorists have received active support and sustenance from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• The Russian Federation today faces a multitude of serious problems and challenges both political and economic. Moscow has been dependent on western funding and goodwill for the past decade. The country can no longer afford to undertake large-scale economic projects abroad on concessional terms. It has also not been able to assert its views on issues like the supply of cryogenic engines for India s space programme, the supply of weapons to Iran or the Anglo-American vendetta against Iraq and Yugoslavia. In these circumstances, Moscow has been forced to look for allies in the United Nations. Its growing relations military, political and economic with China, have to be seen in this context. But, Moscow shares New Delhi s views about the need for a multi polar world order and has consistently supported India, in its bid for Permanent Membership of the U.N. Security Council.
• Moscow recognises that its main security challenges presently are internal. It has acknowledged that its present economic difficulties have led to terrorism, organised crime and narcotics posing a threat to the country s pluralistic society. It has spoken of a semi-crescent stretching from Kosovo through Turkey, the Trans Caucasus, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan to the Xinjiang Uighur area in China. Putin believes that there are Chechnyas lurking everywhere and that the entire Central Asian Region will be destabilised if the Taliban reach the Tajikistan border. He is realistic enough to recognise that Moscow cannot confront NATO or the West and has therefore sought a policy of engagement. The Russians are, however, only too aware that their internal weaknesses have resulted in western inroads into their traditional spheres of influence like the Baltic Republics, Eastern Europe and even Central Asia. While its political isolation and economic vulnerability have led to Moscow seeking a wide ranging partnership with Beijing, there is perhaps a realisation dawning that China has its own great power ambitions. New Delhi should frankly share its concerns on this score with Putin, especially given the unrestrained Chinese propensity to transfer nuclear, missile and conventional hardware to Pakistan.
• Russia has been and will remain a crucial and indeed predominant partner in India s defence preparedness. A long-term agreement on military technical cooperation that is valid till 2010 was signed when Prime Minister Primakov visited India in December 1998. The Kargil experience has shown that it is essential for us to rapidly modernize and augment the firepower of our armed forces.
• While the Indo-Russian joint Commission has sought to promote economic cooperation in areas ranging from power, coal and the oil industry to culture and the environment, Moscow hopefully understands that in a globalised world economic order, Indian companies will be looking for goods and services that are internationally competitive. Likewise, we will have to take measures to develop a more competitive edge for our exports, if we are to compete with countries like China for a share of the Russian market. With annual bilateral trade reaching barely $1.25 billion, the scope for expansion is immense. Further, there is need to explore the possibilities of expanding cooperation in areas of dual use technologies, especially in the light of wide ranging American restrictions on the transfer of dual use technologies to India. As the Russian economy picks up strength, Vladimir Putin will be less prone to yield to external pressures.
• Russia and India are today facing direct challenges to their pluralistic societies from forces driven by extreme interpretations of medieval religious concepts. Russian support for our position on Kashmir has to be viewed in this perspective.  Given the shared concern of Moscow and New Delhi about the policies of the Taliban, there is little doubt that the Putin visit will produce wide ranging measures to deal with the menace posed by religious extremism.
• The Russians have been consistent champions of the NPT. While differences on nuclear issues with Moscow will persist, it needs to be remembered that the Russians have always acted with restraint on issues pertaining to our nuclear programme, especially after the May 1998 nuclear tests. New Delhi shares Moscow s concerns about the national missile defence system that the Americans are proposing to develop and deploy. India and Russia have been discussing the text of a strategic partnership pact during the past few years. This pact will be signed by the Russian President, during his visit. But India and Russia share common interests in safeguarding their territorial integrity and pluralistic societies against the forces of religious extremism and in promoting democratisation of the world order. Russia also desires India’s support against the NMD programme of USA.
• Quite obviously, in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse, India, like some other South Asian countries, became peripheral to Russian political and strategic thinking. The new Russia, fresh out of the Soviet mindset, clearly did not feel the need to maintain its special relationship with India as a strategic ally to counter the West and China since it was seeking closer cooperation with the latter.