Manmohan heads for Russia despite political chill
Embarking on a visit to Moscow in the backdrop of a diplomatic chill, prime minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said India attaches high priority to its ties with Russia and wanted to further strengthen the multi-faceted relationship, particularly i...
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Embarking on a visit to Moscow in the backdrop of a diplomatic chill, prime minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said India attaches high priority to its ties with Russia and wanted to further strengthen the multi-faceted relationship, particularly in energy and defence fields.
In his pre-departure statement, Singh hoped that the relationship based on strong fundamentals and ‘enduring bond of friendship’ would continue to bring the two countries closer in a dynamic international environment. During the two-day visit for the Indo-Russian annual summit, Singh will hold talks with president Vladimir Putin on a wide range of issues with an aim of fostering closer ties.
“I will convey to him (Putin) the high priority that India attaches to its partnership with Russia and the benefits that this partnership has brought to our two peoples,” Singh said. He added that the Indo-Russian strategic partnership is an enduring bond of friendship which has strong historical roots.
Observing that India’s relations with Russia have traditionally been a factor of peace and stability in the region and beyond, Singh said that he was convinced that the strong fundamentals of mutual trust and shared world view on regional and global issues would continue to bring the two countries closer together in a dynamic international environment.
“Our multi-faceted bilateral operations with Russia are based on long-term interests,” he said.
The prime minister said the annual Indo-Russian summit since Putin’s first visit to India in 2000 has led to the progressive consolidation of bilateral relations and maintained the momentum of very close high-level contacts.
The Russians had been insisting that Singh meet his ‘counterpart’ prime minister Viktor Zubkov failing which the visit would be classified as ‘working’ and not ‘official’, which entails certain protocol.
Singh said India is committed to further deepen its partnership with Russia in the field of trade and investment, defence, energy security, science and technology and other areas of mutual interest.
The prime minister said he is confident that his visit will lead to reaffirmation of the joint endeavour towards greater economic prosperity and creating a secure, stable and peaceful world order.
In his pre-departure statement, Singh hoped that the relationship based on strong fundamentals and ‘enduring bond of friendship’ would continue to bring the two countries closer in a dynamic international environment. During the two-day visit for the Indo-Russian annual summit, Singh will hold talks with president Vladimir Putin on a wide range of issues with an aim of fostering closer ties.
“I will convey to him (Putin) the high priority that India attaches to its partnership with Russia and the benefits that this partnership has brought to our two peoples,” Singh said. He added that the Indo-Russian strategic partnership is an enduring bond of friendship which has strong historical roots.
Observing that India’s relations with Russia have traditionally been a factor of peace and stability in the region and beyond, Singh said that he was convinced that the strong fundamentals of mutual trust and shared world view on regional and global issues would continue to bring the two countries closer together in a dynamic international environment.
“Our multi-faceted bilateral operations with Russia are based on long-term interests,” he said.
The prime minister said the annual Indo-Russian summit since Putin’s first visit to India in 2000 has led to the progressive consolidation of bilateral relations and maintained the momentum of very close high-level contacts.
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The visit is taking place in the backdrop of a diplomatic chill, which involved a row over the classification of the prime minister’s visit. The Russians had been insisting that Singh meet his ‘counterpart’ prime minister Viktor Zubkov failing which the visit would be classified as ‘working’ and not ‘official’, which entails certain protocol.
Singh said India is committed to further deepen its partnership with Russia in the field of trade and investment, defence, energy security, science and technology and other areas of mutual interest.
The prime minister said he is confident that his visit will lead to reaffirmation of the joint endeavour towards greater economic prosperity and creating a secure, stable and peaceful world order.
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