The Hindu : International / India & World : Putin hails successful BrahMos test by India

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Friday, Dec 24, 2004

International

International - India & World

Putin hails successful BrahMos test by India

By Vladimir Radyuhin

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, listening with keen interest to the Indian Ambassador, Kanwal Sibal, after accepting his credentials. — Photo: V. Radyuhin

MOSCOW, DEC. 23. Russia sets great value on its warm and trust-based relations with India and will work to upgrade strategic partnership between the two countries, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, said.

"We value the traditionally warm and trustworthy relations with India. The political, economic and cultural ties between the two countries are steadily developing," Mr. Putin said after accepting the credentials of the Indian Ambassador, Kanwal Sibal, in the Kremlin on Wednesday. Mr. Sibal, who arrived in Russia in September, is India's 18th envoy to Russia since the two countries opened diplomatic relations in April 1947.

Strategic character

Mr. Putin specially stressed the strategic character of Indo-Russian partnership that gained new strength following his visit to India earlier this month.

"During the Russia-India summit in December we reaffirmed the course for upgrading and enriching our strategic partnership."

Reference to strategic partnership carried extra significance as it was made in front of an international diplomatic audience. Along with Mr. Sibal, Ambassadors of seven other countries, including the United Kingdom, Iraq and Finland, presented their credentials to Mr. Putin.

Kremlin officials said Mr. Putin was particularly happy with the substance and atmospherics of his third visit to India in December.

They stressed that he had developed good personal chemistry with the new Indian leadership and was deeply moved by the genuine warmth and regard showed to him during his stay in India.

Mr. Putin spent appreciably more time chatting informally over a glass of Champaign with the Indian Ambassador than with any of the other envoys after the official ceremony for presentation of credentials in the Kremlin's empirically-decorated Alexandrovsky Hall.

Energy cooperation

It is understood that Mr. Putin and Mr. Sibal discussed energy cooperation and expeditious implementation of the decisions taken at the New Delhi summit.

Mr. Putin also congratulated Mr. Sibal on the successful first test-launch of the land version of the Indo-Russian BrahMos cruise missile earlier this week.

Speaking at the ceremony, he criticised "double standards" in foreign policy. "We regard the policy based on ideological stereotypes (and) the inertia of on block-based approaches and double standards as counterproductive," Mr. Putin said. "Historical experience shows that such a policy has a most negative effect on the global system of international relations and the situation in separate countries."

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