Friends forever

At a time when the global dynamics keep changing affecting the relationship between the nations, the Indo-Russia friendship is a ray of hope for the rest of the world. The friendship which started during the Soviet era is still going strong. The flurry of activity that marked the just-concluded visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin – his cordial meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a string of agreements signed between the two countries – had an air of reassurance about the long-term partnership. This is despite the pulls and pressures on both countries due to the rapidly shifting global power dynamics.

Developments like Russia’s growing dependency on China due to sanctions from the Western nations and India’s increasing convergence with the United States and its inclusion in Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprising US, India, Japan, and Australia) have not hampered the efforts to deepen the bilateral relations. During Putin’s visit, the two countries cemented a pact on military cooperation for a ten-year period and signed 28 agreements covering defense, science, and technology, higher education, commerce, and industry, the key among them being the deal for joint production of over six lakh AK-203 assault rifles at a manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi.

The story of the India-Russia relationship is all about keeping an old romance alive despite the lure of more attractive partners coming along. What makes the bilateral ties more fascinating is that both countries have remained friendly and cordial despite the growing pressure on them due to the rapidly changing global geopolitical scenario. In fact, on several international issues, they are not on the same page. The terms of engagement may have changed over the years, but the India-Russia ties have largely remained strong and formidable.