From Russia with love

Russian President Dimitri Medvedev said his conversation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was not merely an exchange of impressions, but a “full and substantial’’ discussion that embraced several interests. Singh said apart from issues like security and N-trade, he had a “very pleasant discussion’’ on India’s participation in Russia’s pharma sector. The continuing global slowdown and a decline in oil prices have made Russia more open to reaching out to an old friend, while the change of guard in the US has seen India reaffirm ties, with Singh describing Russia as a “global world power’’ at a joint press conference on Monday. The two nations also share concerns over the rise of China. Medvedev pointed to the shared perceptions on terrorism, calling it the greatest evil of the last and current century. He said Russia would not want nuclear weapons being “held hostage to terror’’. “Russia expresses solidarity and support for India’s demand for bringing to book the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks,” Medvedev said. Though Singh did not refer to Pakistan, he echoed his host’s views on a stable Afghanistan with a stable sense of nationhood. The liberal use of phrases like “most rewarding’’, “a major step in our ties’’ and “trust and confidence’’ indicated a genuine meeting of minds as did the assertion that Indo-Russian trade would touch $20 billion by 2015. Medvedev also made it clear that the G8 statement at La Aquila on restricting enrichment and reprocessing tech to non-NPT nations did not impact its related agreements with India. Medvedev did stress that Russia was opposed to the club of Nweapon states growing larger, , which has implications on the country’s position in Iran, while emphasising that N-tech should be thoroughly accounted for and should not fall into wrong hands. The nuclear agreement with Russia was stressed by both leaders, and Department of Atomic Energy chairman Srikumar Banerjee later told mediapersons that fuel guarantees, upfront clearances and, importantly, cooperation in research were important takeaways. Defence and military agreements, supply of spare parts and active cooperation in intelligence sharing augur well for the relationship. Indian sources said the agreement covers research and development, nuclear plants, upfront consent for reprocessing and fuel supply guarantees. On fuel supply, it states that any abrogation of the bilateral agreement is without prejudice to ongoing contracts and fuel supplies. The nuclear agreement signed between India and Russia is expected to provide momentum to India’s nuclear trade. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said there would an addition to the two reactors being developed at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu while a site was being considered at Haripur in West Bengal. Later Banerjee said the site would most probably be offered to the Russians once land clearances were obtained from West Bengal government. The two sides signed a total of six agreements but the Russians were clearly pleased with the civil nuclear cooperation pact. The reactors, which cost about $1.5 billion each, will certainly be welcome for a Russian economy that is simply not doing too well. Banerjee also spoke of India’s plans for 10,000 MW capacity which would be a mix of reactors built by foreign suppliers and indigenous 700 MW pressurised heavy water reactors. “The current uranium reserves we have allow us to support 10,000 MW,” Banerjee said. Eight 700 MW PHW reactors were being planned at present that would account for 5,600 MW. There was some good news on the uranium supplies front as potentially minable deposits had been found in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The site in Meghalaya was still affected by environmental issues that were being sorted out.. With the meeting with Medvedev having set the mood, Singh’s interaction with Putin, still very much the “real’’ power centre in Moscow, is expected to see a detailed exchange of assessments. Putin and Singh will also address a conference of CEOs to be attended by Indian biz honchos. The easing of credit is seen to address a long-pending irritant as banks have tended to rate Russia’s risk status on the higher side. Terming India a “deserving candidate”, Russia on Monday backed its claim for a permanent membership in an expanded United Nations Security Council reflecting the present-day realities. “Russia views India as one of the deserving candidates for the seat of permanent member in the expanded UNSC,” says a joint declaration signed here after summit talks between PM Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev.