“Time-tested friend” Russia backed on Tuesday India’s claim for a permanent seat on a reformed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and also joined New Delhi in demanding expeditious punishment for 26/11 perpetrators, authors and accomplices.
“Time-tested friend” Russia backed on Tuesday India’s claim for a permanent seat on a reformed United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and also joined New Delhi in demanding expeditious punishment for 26/11 perpetrators, authors and accomplices.
Dmitry Medvedev sent a stern message to Pakistan without naming it.
“Terrorists are criminals. They, of course, should be punished. Those who hide terrorists conceal their crimes. No modern civilised state can hide terrorists as law-abiding citizens. They are subject to punishment,” the Russian president said.
In a joint statement with prime minister Manmohan Singh, he “strongly condemned those who support terrorism, noting that states that aid, abet or shelter terrorists are as guilty of acts of terrorism as their actual perpetrators”.
Medvedev attended the closing of the 11th India-Russia annual summit, which also marked the completion of 10 years of strategic partnership between the two nations.
After the meet, the countries signed 30 agreements in areas ranging from defence, nuclear energy and science to culture and pharmaceuticals.
Expanding counter-terror cooperation figured prominently in talks between Manmohan Singh and Medvedev.
Russia will help India set up additional nuclear reactors at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu and the two counties vowed to double bilateral trade to $20 billion by 2015.
While supporting New Delhi’s candidature for a permanent UN Security Council seat, Medvedev said India was a “deserving and strong candidate”.
He said UN Security Council reform should be carried out in a manner that reflects contemporary realities and makes the council more effective in dealing with present-day and emerging challenges.
“Russian Federation supports India as a deserving and strong candidate for a permanent seat in an expanded UN security council,” Medvedev said.
The two sides decided to work closely in UN Security Council during 2011-12 when India would be a non-permanent member of the council.
The warmth of an age-old friendship was clearly visible in the body language of Manmohan and Medvedev as the Indian prime minister called Russia a “time-tested friend”.
Manmohan is rarely as effusive as he was on Tuesday while talking about Indo-Russia friendship. “Russia is a time-tested friend of India that has stood by us in our times of need in the past. Ours is a special and privileged strategic partnership. It is a partnership that has and will continue to develop independent of our relations with other countries,” he said.
Russia meets 70% of India’s defence requirements. Its fighter jets, missile gunboats and tanks were very effective during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
During the Kargil war, Russia helped India with ammunition replacement. Indian nuclear reactors too are heavily dependent on uranium supply from Russia. In 1998, when the world community isolated India after it conducted its first nuclear test, Russia opposed sanctions.
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