Clear signs of chill in Indo-Russian ties | Kamlendra Kanwar

Published on 23-11-2007 In National

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Clear signs of chill in Indo-Russian ties

The apparent chill in India's relations with Russia in recent weeks is a price that we are paying for tying ourselves to American apron strings a little too tightly. Considering that the Russians and before them the Soviets have stood by us through our worst times, this is not happy augury. The blame for it lies not with the Manmohan Singh government alone. The attitude of the Russian establishment has been inexplicably cold and uncharacteristic. Until President Putin came to India in January last, all seemed well. The sour note is a recent phenomenon.

The reception given to Prime Minister Singh on his recent visit to Moscow defied reason. As it is, the 28-hour visit was the shortest by any Indian Prime Minister in the last six decades. That the usual warmth in relations between the two countries was missing was clear even before the visit when the Russians quibbled over how the visit should be characterized. Moscow wanted to term the trip as a "working visit," not an "official visit" unless Dr Singh agreed to meet Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov in addition to official-level talks with President Putin.

With just one official day, November 12, available for meetings, India tried to explain its "practical difficulties" but ultimately gave in. The two sides have been holding summit-level meetings at the level of the Prime Minister of India and the Russian President for the past seven years alternatively in Russia and India. Russia seemed to suggest that Dr Singh must meet his Russian "counterpart", knowing well that Dr Singh was the head of the government and his counterpart would be President Putin in Russia.

This strange indifference of the Russians was first felt when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov did not find the time to meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee when the latter visited Moscow in October last in connection with a joint commission meeting. To add insult to injury, Mukherjee faced the embarrassment of having to undergo security checks at the ceremonial lounge while leaving Moscow.

In the past Indian Foreign Ministers have even been having meetings with the President but Mukherjee could not get an audience with Putin who was conveniently out of town. Defence Minister A.K. Antony also visited Moscow for four days around the same time and was denied the customary meeting with President Putin.

Much as Foreign Ministry officials may pretend that all is well, it is clear that there is a chill starting with Mukherjee's October visit and the lukewarm reception to Dr Singh was an extension of that. Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon sought to cover up the embarrassment when he told reporters, "This is one relationship without any wrinkles or difficulties.

" National Security Adviser M K Narayanan interjected that talk of a chill was a 'wrong perception.'

"In fact, it (the India-Russian relationship) is so warm it is almost hot," he quipped. But such incredible statements in the face of an obvious downturn only serve to lower the credibility of the administration.

Clearly, the Russians are piqued over the Manmohan Singh government's new-found love for the Bush administration in the US. They have also expressed unhappiness over the joint naval exercises of India with the US, Japan and Australia. India has shown an increasing tendency to enter into defence agreements with the US while slow-pedaling those with the Russians who have been this country's traditional defence partners.

Trade between India and Russia has been stagnating at a level of US$ 3 billion and though a target of US$ 10 billion has been set for achievement by 2010, this is paltry considering the size of the two economies. Indian business leaders have also shown reluctance to reach out to their Russian counterparts the way they do with the Americans. Prime Minister Singh's visit did not coincide with visits by our business leaders for bilateral discussions and deals.

The most visible signs that the visit of the Prime Minister that began on a sour note had not even ended on a bright note was the `hitch' that developed in the proposed agreement for the construction of four additional nuclear reactors for the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu. India was expected to sign a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Russia, which would have expanded the present nuclear collaboration between the two countries. The pact was also expected to have a separate component on the construction of four additional nuclear units in Kundankulam.

In October this year, when Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov visited New Delhi, he had said that the pact would be finalised during Dr.Singh's November visit to Moscow. However, of the four bilateral agreements signed during Dr Manmohan Singh's visit, the nuclear pact was not one of them.

Whether this had something to do with the American arm-twisting of India as some analysts have hinted is still unclear. A few gains from the visit did emerge, but these were relatively small. These included the agreement on the co-development and co-production of a multi-role transport aircraft, co-development of a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft and the bilateral trade agreement. There was some agreement on the utilization of the rupee debt fund too. Yet, overall, Dr Manmohan Singh's visit was far from momentous and path-breaking. If anything, it was lacklustre and pedestrian.

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