The Hindu : International : 'Russia's ties with India, China set to grow'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 02, 2005

International

International

'Russia's ties with India, China set to grow'

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, JAN. 1. Russia's ties with India and China have made ``significant progress'' in 2004 and are set to grow both in the bilateral and trilateral format in the New Year, a top Russian Foreign Ministry official said.

Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, Alexander Alexeyev, described as ``impressive'' Moscow's bilateral dialogues with India and China in the past year, ``primarily thanks to intensive contacts at high and highest levels.''

As a result, Russian-Chinese and Russian-Indian relations ``have made significant progress in many areas of bilateral cooperation,'' Mr. Alexeyev said in a New Year interview.

``We hope, and with good reason, that the upward growth will continue in 2005."

The Russian Foreign Ministry last week mentioned ``upgrading of cooperation with China and India'' among Russia's priority tasks in the New Year.

The Minister said the Indo-Russian working group on international terrorism will meet in New Delhi on January 18-19, and Russian-Chinese consultations on regional stability and cooperation will take place this month as well.

``Contacts at the high and highest levels will continue in May, when the leaders of China and India come to Moscow for celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Victory (over Nazi Germany in World War Two)."

The Moscow-Beijing-New Delhi triangular dialogue will also be carried forward in the New Year, the Minister said.

``The outlook for Moscow-Beijing-New Delhi ties in trilateral format are credibly real, including economic ties,'' Mr. Alexeyev said, adding that the Foreign Ministers of Russia, India and China will meet in Russia for a fourth informal discussion, scholars of the three countries will gather in Shanghai (China) and a trilateral business council will be held in New Delhi.

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