India Needs To Strengthen Ties With Russia
Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
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After the USSR broke up, India signed a Strategic Partnership agreement with Russia in 2000. While Vladimir Putin is still there (as normally happens in an autocratic country), India has witnessed several changes of government since then. Yet, when Prime Minister Modi meets Putin at Sochi in Russia, the time is perfectly right for India to try and reintroduce an element of camaraderie in the relationship that has cooled off in recent times due to geopolitical compulsions.By Slogger
First publised on 2018-05-21 17:56:53
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Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.
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Russia is close to China and China is close to Pakistan. Hence China is taking Russia close to Pakistan. This is against Indias interests. But Russia needs China to thwart the Western nations, especially USA. Hence, despite Indias traditionally close ties with Russia, it is seen to be veering towards Pakistan in recent times. Narendra Modi has to tackle this and much more.
Although India in 2018 is radically different from what it was in 2000, Russia is still a much wanted ally for several reasons. The first and foremost reason is that despite lesser reliance on Russian weaponry, much of Indias generic armaments are of USSR origin and their maintenance and upkeep requires that India has a lasting strategic partnership with Russia.
Next, Russia has been Indias staunchest supporter in its efforts to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. One false step and if Russia withdraws supports in various nuclear bodies, Indias efforts would receive a setback from which it might never recover. Russia has also helped India in building nuclear power plants (in fact the one at Kudankulam is being built with Russian technology and support) and has never doubted Indias intentions.
On the other hand, cementing ties takes ages but it is very easy to let a relationship go sour in months. India has to reflect on the cause of why Russia is leaning towards Pakistan and held a joint military exercise with that country recently. Modi has to impress upon Putin that India has been a reliable partner for ages and still has a lot of interests in common with Russia. He has to bring the ties back to the level they were before China vitiated the situation.
pic courtesy: thehindu.com
