NEW DELHI: In the backdrop of Russia holding an unprecedented joint military drill with Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet President Vladimir Putin to take stock of Indo-Russian bilateral ties ahead of the BRICS Summit.
President Putin will reach Goa on October 14th where he will participate in the 17th India-Russia Annual Summit with Prime Minister Modi.
These are interesting times, with Russia recalibrating its strategic relations with the two nuclear armed neighbours in the Indian subcontinent. The rebalancing has followed New Delhi’s growing proximity with Washington to diversify its weapons and military suppliers. In such times the former Cold War rivals - Russia and Pakistan - held the wargames very aptly codenamed “Friendship-2016”. For India the only saving grace was that the exercise did not take place in the Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir as planned. Later on Moscow did condemned the Uri Attack on an Army Cantonment and exhorted Islamabad to do more to contain terrorism emanating from its territory.
“At the bilateral Summit in Goa on 15 October 2016, the leaders are expected to review the entire gamut of India-Russia bilateral relations and review the progress made since the last summit held in Moscow in December 2015,” a Ministry of External Affairs’ statement said. Despite India looking at arm suppliers from other countries many deals with its arch-patron Russia are also on the negotiation table. Some of the most important defence deals are purchase of 5 S-400 ‘Triumf’ long-range air defence missile systems, Kamov-28 helicopters and upgradation of the Sukhoi 30-MKIs. Another project under focus would be the
long pending joint development of the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA).
India is also keen to lease another Akula-class nuclear submarine from Russia.
The two leaders are expected to discuss the current situation in the Middle East, as India is likely to propose a BRICS fund for the reconstruction of war-ravaged Syria at the BRICS Summit in Goa to be held on October 15-16. The proposal is significant as Russia has been playing an active role in the conflict by fighting on the side of the Syrian President Bashar-al Assad and Indian position has also been perched in favour of the incumbent Syrian establishment as it has been advocating against foreign intervention in the country.
Other BRICS member countries do not have immediate stake in the Syrian conflict and; India and Russia would want to coordinate with each other on this. It was in August that India in a major outreach to the conflict-ridden country, sent Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar to meet President Assad. The
“objective” position of India was not lost on President Assad, who asked New Delhi to play a greater role in the reconstruction of the war-torn country.