"There are multiple reasons for the current food crisis, primarily because of recent cyclones in Bangladesh and Myanmar, which destroyed the entire rice crops in these countries, also exporters of rice. Now they have to import rice instead of exporting it," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said during the deliberations on the issue at the ministerial meet in Yekaterinburg (Russia).
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday briefed his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the Indo-US nuclear deal and raised the issues of delay in the delivery of Gorshkov aircraft carrier.
The 123 agreement between the two former Cold War rivals was signed in Moscow by the Russian Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko and US ambassador William Burns. The civilian nuclear cooperation pact is a result of over 20 years of tough negotiations between the two countries and provides a legal framework for the nuclear trade between the companies of the two nations.
"I have decided to stop financing the newspaper and consecutively its publication, which is related to large costs for its publication and disagreements with the editorial regarding its concept," Director-General Artyom Artyomov of 'National Media Company', which publishes Moskovsky Korrespondent, was quoted as saying by Interfax.
"There is not a single word of truth in what you mentioned," he said, responding to a question about the story of Moskovsky Korrespondent tabloid claiming that Putin plans to wed Olympic rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabayeva on June 15 and has divorced his wife Lyudmila in February.
During his Russian visit from March 13-19, Admiral Mehta, also the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, is also expected to discuss the vital issues of cooperation with his Russian counterpart Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky and fly the MiG-29KUB fighter developed for deployment on Gorshkov carrier after its induction as INS Vikramaditya some time in 2012. The issues of seagoing trials of Admiral Gorshkov by the Russian Navy prior to its delivery will also be taken up.
"They are trying to convince us that all these actions are not directed against Russia on the other hand, to our quite solid concerns, there is no constructive answer," Putin said.
"If the citizens of Russia trust Dmitry Medvedev and elect him the country's president, I will be ready to chair the government," Putin said after walking into the congress hall near the famous Red Square accompanied by Medvedev amid applause from dark-suited men and women delegates.
Under the deal signed in Moscow last month during Indian Defence Minister A K Antony's visit, HAL will supply large components to Russia's Irkut Corporation for assembling the airframes of Su-30MK fighters. The Russian firm is working on Indian, Malaysian and Algerian export orders.
"The joint development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft will mark the start of cooperation in the development of major state-of-the-art new technology weapon systems," Antony said, adding that both India and Russia would have equal financial and technological stakes and issues related to the intellectual property and specific requirement of the Indian Air Force have been resolved.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said he would lead the list of candidates of pro-Kremlin 'United Russia' in the December parliamentary polls.
Russian authorities claimed to have solved the sensational killing of known Kremlin critic journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was assassinated in the elevator of her apartment in October 2006.
India and Russia will set up a joint task force to boost bilateral trade to a level of $10 billion by 2010 from the present $2billion, a senior official of the Indian government has said.
After a series of setbacks in recent years, Russia on Thursday successfully tested its next-generation submarine launched intercontinental ballistic missile with multiple nuclear warheads.
Moscow had earlier claimed to have found several consignments of Indian rice, groundnuts and sesame seeds contaminated with pests. In January, it had intercepted 54 tons of Indian groundnut infested with pests dangerous for grain crops.
Earlier, President Vladimir Putin and his likely successor Sergei Ivanov had clearly indicated that Moscow will take asymmetrical steps to annihilate US missile defence without getting involved in the arms race.
BrahMos is unique among cruise missiles due to its 2.8 Mach supersonic speed (all other cruise missiles are sub-sonic at present) and much-longer strike range.
Yeltsin was widely hailed as an effective reformer but his era was a traumatic period in Russian history.
Putin also lauded the performance of NPO Mashinostroyenia, the Russian partner in the BrahMos Aerospace joint venture with the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
Dr Singh reminded that today, most of the equipment used by the three wings of the Indian armed forces is of Russian origin.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances