A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

India and Russia consolidate their friendship further, with the two countries signing a Declaration of Strategic Partnership and other agreements of importance during the visit of President Vladimir Putin.

INDO-RUSSIAN relations got a significant boost following the four-day visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India in the first week of October. The dramatic changes that had occurred in the Soviet Union in the 1990s had taken some of the fizz out of the once-thriving relationship. The Putin visit was therefore a timely one. Compared to the much-hyped visit to India of President Bill Clinton early this year, Putin's visit was more businesslike. The Russian delegation was a high-power one. Seventee n bilateral agreements were signed during the visit, underlining the common national and geo-political interests and enhancing the close political and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The key documents signed included the Declaration of Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership. This document spells out in detail the long-term nature of all aspects of Indo-Russian relations. Both sides have made it clear that the strategic partnership is n ot a new alliance; it can be traced back to the close linkages that existed between the two countries for the last 50 years. The Joint Statement issued at the conclusion of the visit specifically stated that the Declaration was a continuation of earlier treaties.

Importantly, Putin's visit seems to have cleared most of the misapprehensions that had emerged in the bilateral context since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Also Moscow has been more than a little worried about the growing proximity between New Delhi and Washington as evidenced by the Clinton visit. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's reference to the United States as "a natural ally" of India and his statement that the two countries were on the right side of history, gave Russia a feeling that it was being taken for granted in New Delhi. India's active role in some of Washington's pet projects like the Conference of Democracies, an undisguised attempt to isolate countries like Russia and China, also sent the wrong signals.

India received a wake-up call of sorts when Putin sent his special envoy, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, to Pakistan, on the eve of his visit to India. The announcement that Putin had accepted an invitation to visit Islamabad took Indian policy-makers by surprise . Of course, Putin is famous for springing surprises before undertaking important foreign trips. On his way to Yokohama, Japan, for the Group of Eight summit, Putin made an unexpected visit to Pyongyang and extracted a promise from North Korean leader Ki m Jong Il about his country's readiness to forgo the long-range missile option. The Russian objective in Pakistan was to get Islamabad's cooperation in combating terrorism. But some analysts feel that the implicit message was that close cooperation among Moscow, Beijing and Islamabad can be a distinct possibility if New Delhi cozies up to Washington unabashedly. China and Pakistan already have an all-weather relationship.

Senior Russian officials in Moscow said that it was in the fitness of things that the special envoy's visit and the announcement of a state visit by Putin to Pakistan were essential to put things in perspective. According to the officials, it would have been more untimely had the announcement been made after Putin's visit to India. Putin personally apprised Vajpayee about the exigencies that have made Moscow seek Islamabad's help in countering terrorism. Moscow has been perturbed by the attempts of some Western countries like France, which may be looking at ways to legitimise the Taliban government in Afghanistan. With the Taliban forces stationed on the borders with Tajikistan, the Russian forces in that country could be under threat. Tajikistan is co nsidered to be the soft under-belly of Russia, which is today facing a serious threat by secessionists owing allegiance to pan-Islamic fundamentalism.

In fact, the bilateral talks between Putin and Vajpayee focussed on the issue of terrorism.

In the Joint Statement, the two sides "underlined the importance of joint efforts for establishing solid international legal basis for cooperation in combating international terrorism''. In a significant move, the two sides agreed to set up a joint worki ng group (JWG) on Afghanistan. The statement "expressed deep concern over the situation prevailing in Afghanistan" and noted that the areas controlled by the Taliban have become breeding grounds for extremism and narco-terrorism. It said that both Russia and India consider "security and stability in Central Asian States as of vital interest to them".

Although non-proliferation may not have figured prominently in the bilateral talks (both sides confirm this), Russia has not wavered on its stand that India should be a signatory to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Russian officials have said th at there is no question of recognising India as a de jure nuclear power. The Director of the Institute for Strategic Research, Moscow, E. Kozhokin, said that it would "be politically difficult to accept India as a nuclear power". It would have bee n better for India to have followed Israel's path. "Everybody knows that Israel is a nuclear power but its vagueness on the issue has helped it," he said. But with the Indian government having virtually given a commitment to sign the CTBT, Russia has bec ome the first Permanent Five (P-5) nation to commit itself openly to the expansion of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy with India.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on intensifying bilateral cooperation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Although the details of the MoU have not been made public, the Russian side is expected to help India meet its growing demand for nuclear energy. The regulations issued by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), consisting of developed nations, in 1992 have stipulated that nuclear sales to India should be under complete international control. New Delhi has consistently rejected such con ditionalities. The Koodankulam nuclear power project in Tamil Nadu predates the NSG agreement.

Putin reiterated that Russia would abide by its international legal obligations. But Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, known to be close to Putin, said that international restrictions would not come in the way of Indo-Russian nuclear cooperati on and that Russia hoped to participate in at least half of the nuclear energy projects India planned to set up. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and India's National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra signed a draft agreement on "mutual security of secret materials" promising to guarantee the secrecy of documents exchanged "in the process of joint activity".

The Joint Statement is supportive of India's position on Kashmir and its stand on the resumption of a dialogue with Pakistan. "The Russian side, while reaffirming its support for India's efforts to normalise its relations with Pakistan on the basis of th e 1972 Shimla agreement, appreciated the position of India that the composite dialogue as a part of the Lahore process could be resumed only when necessary measures are taken for the cessation of support for cross-border terrorism and the respect of the Line of Control." However, a senior Russian official in Moscow, dealing with the South Asia desk, is of the opinion that the Kashmir problem can be resolved only through direct dialogue with Pakistan. "We understand your problem but sooner or later the d ialogue has to be resumed," he said.

In the Joint Statement, the Russian Federation "appreciated the measures taken by India in combating terrorism and ushering in normalcy in the State of Jammu and Kashmir." India reciprocated by expressing its support to the steps taken by Russia in the R epublic of Chechnya "in the protection of its territorial integrity and constitutional order". In his address to Parliament, Putin specifically said that "foreign interference should be stopped" in Kashmir.

India and Russia have pledged to work together for the establishment of a multi-polar world based on sovereign equality of all states. The Joint Statement said that this could only be achieved if international relations are democratised and the "legitima te security interests of all states" are recognised. The two sides expressed their "determined opposition to the unilateral use or threat of use of force in violation of the U.N. Charter, and to intervention in the internal affairs of other states, inclu ding under the guise of humanitarian intervention". This reflects the general unease in the international community about the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's (NATO) war on Yugoslavia and the economic blockade against countries like Iraq and Cuba.

Moscow is particularly concerned about the doctrine of humanitarian intervention being propagated with evangelical zeal by the Clinton administration. The Russian government has also reiterated its support for India to be a permanent member of an expande d United Nations Security Council. Both countries have also stressed the need for "full implementation, in good faith" of all existing bilateral and multilateral arms control treaties including the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty. Russia has been per turbed by the U.S. plans to set up a National Missile Defence system. If the U.S. administration goes ahead with the multi-billion dollar plan, which is violative of the ABM treaty, a new nuclear arms race could be triggered.

THERE was a concerted attempt, orchestrated by powerful arms lobbies and certain countries that want to muscle their way into the lucrative Indian arms bazaar, to downplay the Putin visit. The Indian print and electronic media, which gave lavish coverage to Clinton's visit, was generally low-key in its reportage of Putin. There were minor official gaffes. The first 10 minutes of Doordarshan's live coverage of Putin's address to the Indian Parliament did not have the benefit of an English or a Hindi tran slation. Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi was publicly corrected by Putin when he read out wrong statistics relating to the state of the Russian economy during the conferment of an honorary doctorate on Putin at Jawaharlal Nehru Un iversity.