Moscow: Ahead of his New Delhi visit, President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will "directly" help India in construction of atomic energy facilities.

"We stand ready to support our Indian friends. We intend to help India directly in the construction of atomic energy facilities for peaceful use. On top of that, some of our companies are very much interested in acquiring large contracts for construction of new facilities," he said in a 90-minute interview to PTI here. Mr. Putin's two-day visit to India starts on Thursday.

In a clear statement that Russia would pursue India's case with the Nuclear Suppliers Group for ensuring fuel supplies, he said: "On various occasions we provided India with nuclear fuel. And we will help India settle her problems in international affairs with the proviso that Russia will abide by international obligations."

Mr. Putin, however, declined to spell out the agreements that would be inked during his visit.

"This is exactly what we are going to discuss there. Do you want me to tell the whole story? Then what should we do in the course of our negotiations," he said when asked whether more reactors were likely to be set up in the Russia-aided Koondankulam project in Tamil Nadu and whether agreements would cover fuel supply and reprocessing technology.

During the visit, Russia is expected to finalise an agreement on giving four more reactors for the Koondankulam project.

Mr. Putin spoke warmly of the bilateral relationship, saying India and Russia "have been time-tested partners and friends and we will continue to be just that in future."

He supported India's bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, criticised infiltration into India from across the border and spoke of his liking for Indian food.

"My attitude is positive. We proceed from the assumption that each country has a right to non-discriminatory recourse to energy resources... And I don't exclude that it [the visit] will come up with certain agreements to be reached.

"And we will judge the results of the visit by the agreements that might be reached precisely," he said to a question whether agreements for expansion of civilian nuclear cooperation was possible.

The President said there was need to set up a network of international centres for enrichment of nuclear fuel under the auspices of international organisations — the first and foremost being the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"And within that framework of those centres, it is our position that equal democratic and non-discriminatory recourse should be ensured and secondly, for all countries this procedure should certainly be done with strict meeting of the requirements and demands imposed by the international organisations."

Recalling the association between New Delhi and Moscow in nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, Mr. Putin, whose visit will also mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relationship, declared that his country was aware of the Indian leadership's plans to expand that sector.

"We stand ready to support our Indian friends, certainly with the proviso that Russia will fulfil the obligations and commitments made in the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. To do that, we are negotiating with both the Indian partners and the members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group." Asked about the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal, he said Russia did not go by what other countries did. "We are proceeding from our bilateral relationship with India."

Asked whether Russia would take up India's case at the NSG, he said, "This is exactly the state of affairs there. This has exactly been the agenda of experts of our countries who are involved in the NSG."

"We found the possibility of nuclear supplies being made earlier with regard to nuclear fuel deliveries. We will be constructing nuclear facilities in India. Our experts have been working constantly on the problems jointly with Indian partners in order to set out proper conditions, which will be conducive to development of nuclear programmes of India. So this has been a very thought-out approach to addressing this issue."

Asked whether there was a possibility of sale of medium range transport aircraft and fifth generation fighter jets to India and their joint production, Mr. Putin said, "Well, you have told the whole story better than I know."

This subject would come up in the discussions, he said. "Well, we will discuss the question of supplying existing hardware. We will also talk about joint production of transport aircraft."

As regards the fifth generation jet fighters, he said, "We can talk about joint efforts in its production. I would like to see that our talks on this specifically culminate in positive results. Our Indian partners have expressed interest in all these tracks concerning this project and I see no ground why we should back off on our part."

"The package is virtually agreed upon. When I referred to the strategic partnership, I certainly referred to our interaction in the defence and technological fields. This is a very sensitive area, which requires high level of mutual trust.

"And such a level of trust has already been achieved. The very specific feature of our interaction has to do with the fact that we have moved from the simple paradigm of seller-buyer relationship to jointly working on products. This fully refers to our successful BrahMos project, which has to do with naval missile systems."

Mr. Putin said that of late the two countries had taken certain steps which would allow them to further develop cooperation.

"This relates to setting up on the territory of India facilities which will be engaged in the repair work and servicing of those equipment. Thus we are talking of complete change in possible cooperation here — of joint efforts in production, sales and repair."

Asked about the possibility of production of defence products in third countries, he said, "Naturally we are talking about such an end product which will be in demand in the international markets of military hardware. But also these products could also be used by our forces in India and Russia." — PTI

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