Time Tests Ties

Context: The recent high-level visit of the Russian Foreign Minister calls for contextualising traditional, time-tested India-Russia relations in light of changing realities.

Areas of convergence

• On bilateral front: Strategic cooperation, cooperation in energy, nuclear and space sectors, and on talks on a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
• More agreements on military-technical cooperation: For joint production of India-made Russian weapons.
• Avenues for more investment in connectivity: Including International North-South Transport Corridor and Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor.

Areas of divergence

• “Rebalanced nature” of international relations: E.g. Deepening Russia-China ties, India’s Indo-Pacific strategy and rise of QUAD (Russia referred it as Asian NATO).
• Difference in stand-in resolving Afghan crisis: Russia pushes for bringing Taliban into a power-sharing arrangement whereas India stands for a “democratic Afghanistan”.
• Russia-Pakistan relations in focus: Russia is ready to strengthen Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts with the supply of “relevant equipment”.