Ahmed Shah Massoud's assassination, 9/11 and the defeat and ejection of the Taliban suggested a break in Afghanistan's history, but the events of August 2021 and the Taliban's return shows how deeper continuities remained in place, points out T C A Raghavan, former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan.
Russia President Vladimir Putin on Monday described India as a great power, a friendly nation and a time-tested friend and echoed common concerns over terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime as he held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Singh's comments that the nuclear option should not be resorted to is a message to Russia as well as Western powers backing Ukraine, people familiar with the matter said. Ukraine does not have any nuclear arsenal.
India and Russia on Thursday decided to expand cooperation in various sectors as they signed 16 pacts, including on joint manufacture of 226 military helicopters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday pushed Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine, saying 'today's era is not of war' even as he called for finding ways to address the global food and energy security crisis.
Big ticket defence deals including purchase of missile systems, frigates and joint production of helicopters were sealed on Saturday.
CAATSA was aimed at Moscow and not intended to damage the military capabilities of its 'allies and partners', US said.
Indian Air Force officials have held talks with Director General of Sukhoi Mikhail Pogosyan to develop and manufacture the fifth generation fighter aircraft. The Russian delegation included representatives of Rosoboronexport state-run weapons trading company ARMS-TASS reported quoting the Sukhoi press service.
Srikanth Kondapalli on what to expect from the seventh BRICS summit meeting to be held in Russia in July.
Expressing the hope that the bilateral strategic partnership with Russia will achieve further heights, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said the rapid growth of the two economies will create new opportunities for mutual cooperation, particularly in the area of energy security.
India would receive its first new generation Nerpa Akula-II class nuclear attack submarine, which is undergoing sea trials in Russia, by the end of this year, a top Russian official has said.
India and Russia have decided to explore signing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement that will include not only features of a foreign trade agreement but also trade in services and investment.
In the summit as well as in the inaugural '2+2' defence and foreign ministerial talks, the two sides are also expected to focus on the situation in Afghanistan and the rising threat of terrorism including from groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh fted Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over lunch at home on Tuesday, but before that a bagful of agreements were signed at Hyderabad House in the capital, as well as on the margins of the summit, signalling that the suspicion and mutual agreement, which has been a key feature of the recent past, now truly belonged there.
India and Russia revived a joint military exercise series focusing on counter-terrorism operations, with a Russian Army contingent arriving at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand on Friday for the 10-day training. The 'Indra-2010' will formally kick-start from Saturday and go on till October 21 when battalion-sized troops will test their skills in anti-insurgency operations at the military station in Chaubattia, Defence Ministry officials said in New Delhi.
India and Russia have flagged the urgent need to squarely meet the challenges posed by proliferation of nuclear weapons and its possible link to terrorism. The two countries warned how the possibility of atomic weapons falling into the hands of rogue elements posed a threat to international peace and security and undermined security of states.
Indian and Russian troops will carry out counter-terrorism drills during joint wargames 'INDRA-2012' close to Russia's boundary with China and Mongolia in August.
Russian traders have started asking for payments in ruble for their exports to India in a move that could derail trade between the two countries which gathered pace after the war in Europe. This is because Indian importers are unable to pay in ruble. The India-Russia trade gathered pace after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February this year. In the April-June quarter, India's imports from Russia were valued at $9.27 billion, up 369 per cent year on year.
Indian Naval Ship Beas, India's indigenously built Brahmaputra class missile frigate, armed with state-of- the-art weapons, including the Barak anti-missile battery will hold joint naval exercises with the Russian navy.
"The contract for the detailed design would be signed soon and that will be a major milestone. It should be signed in the second half of the year," a top official involved in the negotiations with Russia on the project said.
India and Russia today signed an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh describing it as a "new milestone" in bilateral relations.
As part of their counter-terrorism war games, the armies of India and Russia on Friday deployed their attack choppers and tanks in Bikaner, Rajasthan and captured a notional terrorist strong-point in a South Sudan-like scenario.
'The Indian activities at the UN are fully reflecting the merit of our special and privileged strategic partnership'
Come December, India may have to re-evaluate purchases of Russian oil if a price cap on crude oil proposed by the US and the European Union (EU) comes into effect. That impacts nearly a quarter of India's oil purchases that come at a discount, helping limit marketing losses for India's state refiners and enabling New Delhi to manage inflation by freezing pump prices of motor fuels. In September, India imported 1 million barrels a day or 24 per cent of its overall imports from Russia, which became the biggest supplier of oil to India.
Russia has made a new offer on the delivery of Sukhoi T-50 (PAK FA) fighter jets to India under the joint FGFA initiative.
Pharma exports from India to Russia have doubled in the last five years.
Mikheev said Russia and India are holding talks with a view to sign a contract for 48 (Mi-17V-5) helicopters.
The deal is for the swapping of 18 Sukhoi fighter jets in service with the IAF for the latest version of air superiority multi-role warbirds tailored to meet Indian requirements
Talking to reporters in Tiruchirapalli, Pillai said, "Now we are the leaders in supersonic missile system with the successful development of Brahmos Cruise Missiles."
"The two sides express concern over the continuing deterioration of the situation in Iraq," a joint statement issued by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Vladimir Putin, after their talks in New Delhi, said.
Notwithstanding its continuing military strikes against Ukraine, Russia has started supplying some components of the second regiment of the S-400 Triumf missile defence system to India, people familiar with the development said on Friday.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Wednesday had 'fruitful and productive' meetings with top Russian diplomats on bilateral issues as well as regional and global issues of mutual interest and the two sides discussed ways to further strengthen the bilateral Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
In the first interaction between India and the Russian Federation, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will meet visiting Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry O Rogozin on June 18.
The four pillars on which the relationship rests strategic congruence; defence and space partnership; nuclear power generation; and hydrocarbons remain biased in favour of Russia. Putin's visit gave little hope that this was about to change.
India, Russia to sign military IPR agreement in December
India, Russia for resolving Iran issue within IAEA framework
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