India to reaffirm concerns over Russia-Pak military ties at Modi-Putin meet

BENAULIM: India hopes its longtime strategic partner, Russia, would reflect upon its just-concluded maiden military exercise with Pakistan and refrain from more such joint ventures. Even as a red carpet is being laid out for President Vladimir Putin in Goa for his four-day visit, when the two nations will put in place a plethora of agreements at the 17th edition of annual summit on Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will impress upon Russian President Vladimir Putin to ‘reflect on’ New Delhi’s concerns over Russia’s growing military ties with Pakistan.

Indian Ambassador Pankaj Saran told media on the eve of the summit that the matter of Russo-Pak military exercise has been taken up at the highest level in Moscow and India would urge Russia to be sensitive to Delhi's concerns. He described the military exercise as an episodic event.

Russia detested from holding the exercises in the Rattu area of Gilgit-Baltistan after the Uri terrorist attack when India pointed out to Moscow that the area fell in Pakistan occupied Kashmir. However, it did not call off the joint military exercises with Pakistan in Cherat, a hill station in the Nowshera district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, 34 km from Peshawar.