India Russia Relations

[youngindian]

PM to sign deal for extending military cooperation with Russia

Thursday, October 15, 2009

New Delhi: With an aim to extend their military and technical cooperation till 2020, India and Russia will sign an inter-governmental agreement during prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow this December.

A broad protocol for continuing with the Inter- Governmental Commission for Military and Technical Cooperation (IGC-MTC) was agreed to during defence minister AK Antony's three-day visit to Russia that ended today.

The 10-year IGC-MTC, which was signed in 1998, began in 2000 and will come to an end in 2010. The protocol signed by Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov today was for extension of the IGC-MTC till 2020, an agreement for which would be signed during Singh's visit, Defence Ministry officials said here.

The two-day ninth IGC-MTC meeting, co-chaired by Serdyukov, which began in Moscow yesterday was attended by Antony.

"A protocol highlighting the various aspects of these projects was signed at the conclusion of the two-day IGC-MTC meeting. Both sides reiterated the commitment of the two governments to extend the ongoing programme of military technical cooperation for a further ten years, from 2011 to 2020," officials added.

Singh is visiting Moscow in December to attend the India-Russia Summit, the officials said.

At the IGC-MTC meeting, India and Russia reviewed the status of various ongoing bilateral defence cooperation projects, including joint design and development of a Fifth General Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA), indigenous production of the Russian T-90S tanks at the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi near Chennai, upgrading the Sukhoi fighter jets and joint development of a hypersonic BrahMos-II cruise missile.

"Antony and Serdyukov expressed the hope that the inter-governmental agreement in this regard would be signed during the prime minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Moscow in December for the India-Russia Summit," Defence Ministry officials said.

Antony, in his opening remarks at the meeting, said the two countries have had an enduring strategic partnership and defence ties and described Russia as a "time-tested and dependable friend" of India.

He emphasised that India was determined to strengthen the bond in all areas of bilateral relations and noted that over the years defence relations with Russia had evolved from "a simple buyer-seller relationship to a broadbased partnership," where both countries were involved in joint design, development and production of defence equipment.

Taking note of the structured mechanisms for defence interactions with Russia, Antony said at the meeting that Russia was the only country with which India has such a well-established multi-tiered mechanism, which contributed to strengthening of the bilateral ties.

An agreement would be signed during the Summit for after-sales maintenance of defence equipment of Russian origin used by the Indian Armed Forces.

The Indian delegation to the two-day IGC-MTC meeting included Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production) Raj Kumar Singh and other senior officials of the Defence Ministry and the Armed Forces.

PM to sign deal for extending military cooperation with Russia - dnaindia.com

 

[youngindian]

India, Russia agree arms pact likely worth $5 bln

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India and Russia agreed two military pacts on Thursday, including a 10-year deal on weapons, aircraft and maintenance contracts potentially worth at least $5 billion, Indian defence officials said.

India's Defence Minister A.K. Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov agreed the deals in Moscow.

"All defence deals, all contracts, will come under the 10- year agreement," Defence Ministry Spokesman Sitanshu Kar said in New Delhi. Defence officials told Reuters that the pact had business potential worth at least $5 billion.

The 10-year deal, to be signed when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Russia this year, would include a $1 billion deal for 80 Russian Mi-17 helicopters and contracts for fitting Brahmos missiles onto Russian-made Sukhoi fighter planes.

They are also building a modern supersonic fighter aircraft invisible to radars like the U.S. F-22 Raptor stealth fighter, P.K. Barbora, a top Indian Air Force official told Reuters.

The second pact covers after-sales product support for defence equipment of Russian origin.

India's growing ties with the United States, underscored by a civilian nuclear deal, has put Russia at unease, as New Delhi seeks to reach out to other countries to modernise its military inventory of mostly ageing Russian-made arms and fighter jets.

New Delhi also complains of delays in supply of Russian defence equipment, including a refitted aircraft carrier, resulting in huge cost overrun and affecting military planning.

The 10-year deal could now help iron out differences in the relations between two former Cold War allies, analysts say.

"We are overcoming problems and getting along," Barbora said.

New Delhi plans to spend $30 billion over the next five years to buy modern weapons systems and attack planes.

"The agreement will certainly help as Russia needs a market and India needs a strategic reassurance to sort out relations that were going sour," retired Major General Ashok Mehta said.

Experts say India also wants to use the renewed focus on Russia as a counter-weight to China, while a strong presence in South Asia could help Moscow keep an eye on Beijing.

India fears China is trying to encircle it as they jostle for resources and global influence. The two sides have faced off at several multilateral forums this year over their long festering border dispute that led to a brief but bloody war in 1962.

"China is a greater anxiety for Russia in the long run and politically it is desirable for India to strengthen relations with Russia," said Uday Bhaskar, a strategic analyst.

India, Russia agree arms pact likely worth $5 bln - Yahoo! News

 

[LETHALFORCE]

India, Russia to launch fifth generation fighter jets- Airlines / Aviation-Transportation-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

India, Russia to launch fifth generation fighter jets

MOSCOW: India and Russia will launch the joint fifth generation fighters by year end and have agreed to collaborate to develop heavy lift cargo
helicopters and futuristic infantry combat vehicles.

The path for more hi-tech defence collaboration between Moscow and New Delhi was paved with the signing of the joint defence protocol by Defence Minister AK Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov.

The protocol extends military interaction between the two countries till 2020 and this is expected to make the path clear for inking more major defence joint ventures during the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in early December.

The protocol was signed here at the end of 9th session of India-Russia Intergovernmental Commission on military-technical cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) after assurances from Moscow that all pending issues like the delivery of aircraft carrier Gorshkov and nuclear submarine Nerpa would be resolved at the earliest.

The protocol provides for completion of formalities by the year end to launch the joint designing, development and production of fifth generation fighter aircraft project.

Besides the development of a state-of-the-art multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) through a joint venture along the lines of highly successful BrahMos JV, India and Russia have also agreed to jointly develop a heavy lift cargo helicopter and futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV).

A joint statement released after the meeting said that India and Russia will collaborate in up-gradation of IAF's main strike fighter Su-30MKI, the older Mig-27 and T-72M1 battle tanks.

It said that the two sides had also worked out the production in India of Main Battle Tanks (MBT) T-90S with full technology transfer.

In his closing statement at the 9th session of IRIGC-MTC - the apex body for coordination of defence cooperation, Antony announced that both sides have agreed to extend their military interaction programme till 2020 and the concrete projects would be identified shortly for signing during Singh's Moscow visit in December.

"On many other issues, including the Admiral Gorshkov project, we have agreed to continue discussions to find mutually acceptable solutions," Antony said expressing confidence that all the pending issues would be resolved at the earliest.

New Delhi and Moscow have also agreed to ink an inter-government pact on after sales and product support, so far the weakest link in defence
cooperation with Moscow.

"This agreement should also be signed during the forthcoming summit," Antony said.

Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who is the co-chairman of the inter-governmental commission said, "some extra measures," have been taken to eliminate problems, in an apparent reference to delay in delivery of the Gorshkov and nuclear powered Nerpa submarine.

The Russian Minster said, unlike ties with other countries, Indo-Russian defence ties related to hi-technology.

"Our cooperation has confidently moved from buyer-seller relationship to joint research, development and production of hi-tech weapon systems and platforms," he said.

Describing his discussions and meetings with Kremlin top brass as "constructive, free and frank," Antony said that the two countries now had better appreciation of each others position on various issues.

"Both sides have identified a wide range of areas for future cooperation, including joint research, development and production of defence equipment and systems," the Indian Defence Minister said.

 

[youngindian]

Arms from old friend, brains from new pal Defence ties with Russia extended

New Delhi, Oct. 15: India today announced it was renewing its strategic relationship with Russia and had decided to extend the military technical co-operation for 10 years from 2011, despite doubts over guaranteed support and the increasing offers of military assistance from the West.

Defence minister A.K. Antony, who is visiting Moscow, and Russian defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov concluded that military ties between India and Russia had evolved from “a simple buyer-seller relationship to a broad-based partnership where both countries are involved in joint design, development and production of defence equipment”.

Nearly 70 per cent of Indian military hardware is of erstwhile Soviet or Russian origin. But the two sides have failed to sort out the most contentious issue in India-Russia ties: the pricing of the aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov (which India has rechristened the INS Vikramaditya).

Delhi and Moscow have been renegotiating the price for the Gorshkov, contracted in 2004, for more than two years. Russia has also pushed back the delivery schedule by about four years.

The Indian defence establishment has been trying to persuade the Russians to scale down their demand for price escalation that nearly doubles the cost of the carrier. The price being worked on is between $2.2 billion (Rs 10, 150cr) and $2.9 billion (Rs 13,380cr).

The two defence ministers were the co-chairs of the ninth meeting of the “India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Co-operation”, the apex body that governs India-Russia military ties.

Antony said Russia was the only country with which India had an established multi-tiered mechanism for military co-operation.

“Russia is a time-tested, dependable friend of India. Our special defence relationship with Russia will continue. The extension of our long-term defence co-operation programme till 2020 would include 31 new areas,” PTI quoted Antony as saying.

The agreement to renew military-technical co-operation — which traces its roots to Indo-Soviet ties when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister —from 2011 to 2020 is likely to be signed during the scheduled visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Moscow in December.

Defence ministry sources here said the two sides had also decided to sign an agreement on after-sales product support of Russian-origin defence equipment. This is a particularly sore point with the Indian armed forces, which frequently run out of spares and components in critical weapons systems.

The original manufacturers of most of the equipment are now widely dispersed but when India sourced them, they were under a common authority in the erstwhile Soviet Union.

Defence ministry sources said the two sides also reviewed the status for joint design and development of a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft and a Multi-Role Transport Aircraft. The sources said the Russians committed technical support and technology transfer for the production of T-90-S tanks and SU-30MKI fighter jets in India.

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Arms from old friend, brains from new pal Defence ties with Russia extended

 

[nitesh]

which helicopter is this?

India, Russia to launch fifth generation fighter jets- Airlines / Aviation-Transportation-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Besides the development of a state-of-the-art multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) through a joint venture along the lines of highly successful BrahMos JV, India and Russia have also agreed to jointly develop a heavy lift cargo helicopter and futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV).

 

[Vladimir79]

which helicopter is this?

India, Russia to launch fifth generation fighter jets- Airlines / Aviation-Transportation-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

Based on Mi-26T...

Russia, France discuss military cooperation projects | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire

 

[jakojako777]

Based on Mi-26T...

Russia, France discuss military cooperation projects | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire

Will it be any cooperation with India on new generation helicopters like K-90 Vladimir?And what is that "futuristic infantry vehicle"
New BTR? Like new...BTR-4?
I've read that Indian's saw T-95 and they didn't like turret very much...:tank:

 

[jakojako777]

Times change. The Soviet Union is gone. The good ol' "friendship prices" for military equipment is history too.

The boom in outsourcing has created a strong economic bond between India and the US. Different relationships for different times.

From all I could read in comments of many Indians...exactly that "outsourcing" was MAIN PROBLEM and NOT creator of "strong economic bond" between US and India.
There were plenty of problems exactly in that domain.....:monkey:
From blocking uranium to India to problems with weapons.
As for "strong economic bond" US is just fishing for allay in Asia big enough to contain China, that is all.

 

[truthfull]

sir its certainly in developmental stage and not in production otherwise we would have had much more news and publicity.i think the new seeker system is the most important part and i think its in development at the moment

when it will be ready for airforce.

 

[bengalraider]

Will it be any cooperation with India on new generation helicopters like K-90 Vladimir?And what is that "futuristic infantry vehicle"
New BTR? Like new...BTR-4?
I've read that Indian's saw T-95 and they didn't like turret very much...:tank:

Where did you read that?As far as i know the T-95 design is still under development.

 

[jakojako777]

Where did you read that?As far as i know the T-95 design is still under development.

Sorry but I don't have source link.I think that was RIA news few weeks ago and it wasn't article about T-95 but something about Indo-Russian cooperation or such. It was just one sentence on that subject and I don't remember them to mention some official source.Hmm...MIG-35 is also prototype so I don't see it so unusual...
I think it was RIA again when they were talking on few occasions about showing it to the Saudi Arabia but they have decided to buy T-90S (150?)
I was surprised that Russia is doing that cause Saudi's are considered close USA allay.
Also it was without explanation why Saudi's have chosen T-90S to T-95 . News was again without real confirmation or reffernce to official source or name
(about buying 150 T-90S and some other stuff like BTR's, S-400 etc.)
I have no links or official names or reference to official source for all of this just memories of what I've read ...
Sorry about that you can easily not accept it be cause I have no proof....:Laie_42::tank:

 

[jakojako777]

Where did you read that?As far as i know the T-95 design is still under development.

Also I saw that T-95 is due to come out or even be supplied to Russian army starting from next year - 2010...
Again stuff I've read in RIA once (again I have no link or official source name):tank:

 

[RPK]

Russia supports India’s proposal on terrorism, offers access to Glonass Satellite for civilian use

New Delhi, Nov.10 (ANI): Russia stands with India in combating terrorism and backs India’s

proposal of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), said Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation S.S. Sobyanin here on Tuesday.

Convention on International Terrorism or, the CCIT is an Indian document, which outlines the definition of terrorism and proposal of anti-terror law submitted to United Nations in the late 90s, which is under discussion for many years.

In 2001, India in fact submitted its revised version and has been pitching for its implementation.

Sobyanin also said that Russia and India would work together against terrorism through its joint working group on terrorism.

In what can be a major boon for India after cooperation in Sakhalin, Russia has expressed its readiness to offer India an exploration block in Yamal.

“Russia is ready to offer India another exploration block at its site in Yamal in cooperation with gasprom,” Sobyanin informed mediapersons and added: “Russia is willing to give India access to Russian satellite Glonass for civilian purpose.”

Expressing happiness over lifting of sanctions on India for doing nuclear trade, S.S. Sobyanin who co- chairs the Russian-Indian Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation said: “Russia would follow a “new approach” in

conducting nuclear trade with India, which will be more competitive. For this purpose, more cooperation will be sought from the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation, Rosatom.”

Russia is assisting in building Light Water Reactors in Kudankulam 1 and 2 and has recently been allotted two more sites in Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu and Haripur in West Bengal to build nuclear reactors.

Russia is in direct competition with the United States and France, which are bidding for India’s nuclear pie, expected to touch 150 billion dollars in the next 20 years, and includes supply fuel and technology.

Glonass or, the Global Navigation Satellite System is a radio-based satellite navigation system. It has been developed by the former Soviet Union and now operated for the Russian government by the Russian Space Forces.

It is an alternative and complementary to the United States’ Global Positioning System (GPS), the Chinese Compass navigation system, and the planned Galileo positioning system of the European Union (EU).

Glonass was developed to provide real-time position and velocity determination, initially for use by the Soviet military for navigation and ballistic missile targeting. (ANI)

 

[RPK]

PM’s Russia visit will see $5-billion defence deals, but not for Gorshkov

New Delhi: Even though two major defence-related agreements including a 10-year deal on weapons, aircraft and maintenance contracts estimated at around $5 billion, are slated to be inked during Prime Minster Manmohan Singh’s upcoming visit to Russia, the long-awaited deal for aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov is unlikely to be finalised.

While senior navy officials claim that there have been positive developments in the negotiations that ended last week, defence minister AK Antony, responding to a query, said, “No, it is not going to be clinched during the visit early next month.”

“There have been positive developments in the sense that the Russians have agreed not to escalate the cost further and to justify the price quoted so far,” said a navy official requesting anonymity.

In November, a 40-member Russian delegation had arrived in India to discuss the price hike for refurbishment of the $ 2.2-bn aircraft carrier. The price negotiations for Gorshkov have gone on for long, with both sides refusing to budge from their stands. The total demand by the Russians now touches $2.9 billion, instead of $974 million, which was originally contracted. India has asked Russia to bring down the price to $2.1 billion.

However, the official said till the time a final price tag is fixed for the 45,000-tonne Kiev class aircraft carrier, work on the vessel would progress at the usual pace.

The Russian delegation has assured the Indian side that they will protect the work schedule, since a shift in the schedule may otherwise delay the refurbishment of the aircraft carrier, which will be inducted in the Indian Navy as INS Vikramaditya.

“That is the agreement between the two sides that the work on the aircraft carrier would not be stalled. The delivery date for the aircraft carrier, fixed at 2013-15, will be honoured. India so far has released around $ 650 million for the refit work,” the official added.

The issue the escalation in the price for the carrier had also been raised during the discussions with the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Sobyanin during his recent visit to New Delhi. “The issue came up for discussion with the visiting envoy, and he assured us that all the concerns raised by India on this matter will be addressed at the earliest,” said sources in the ministry of external affairs. An agreement between the two countries in 2004 stated that the old aircraft carrier was to be a gift, but India had to pay $974 million to modify and upgrade it in accordance with Indian Navy’s specifications.

Earlier in 2007, Russia claimed that they had made a mistake in their calculations to repair and modify Gorshkov, and demanded another $1.2 billion. Recently, they have added still another $700 million, saying that modifications, and then sea trials, would be more expensive than estimated by them earlier.

 

[ppgj]

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : Modifying Indo-Russian summit format

Modifying Indo-Russian summit format
Vladimir Radyuhin

The change will not only help intensify bilateral interaction at the top level, but also be in line with the division of responsibility for international contacts between Dmitry Medvedev and Vladimir Putin.

As diplomats finalise the programme for an annual Indo-Russian summit in Moscow from December 6 to 8, the South Block would be well advised to reserve at least as much time for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s interaction with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as for his talks with President Dmitry Medvedev.

It will be Dr. Singh’s first visit to Moscow after the power configuration in the Kremlin changed in May 2008 when Mr. Medvedev succeeded Mr. Putin as Russia’s President and appointed his tutor and predecessor to the post of Prime Minister. The two leaders have since been ruling Russia in tandem, but power-sharing is anything but equal, and New Delhi must factor this in.

Mr. Putin remains the undisputed leader in the duumvirate. On surface, each of them has his well-defined spheres of authority. Mr. Medvedev is responsible for foreign and security policies, as well as strategic directions of the country’s development, whereas Mr. Putin looks mainly after the economy. But in practice, Mr. Putin has his hands on all issues and all levers of power. He has further consolidated his position by getting himself elected as the leader of the ruling United Russia Party, which enjoys a three-fourths majority in Parliament. This effectively devalues the President’s constitutional right to sack the Prime Minister.

Mr. Medvedev for his part has not made any attempt to tighten his grip on power, let alone challenge Mr. Putin’s supremacy. He has undertaken hardly any personnel changes even among the Kremlin administration; all his aides are Mr. Putin’s appointees and all his major policy decisions are coordinated with Mr. Putin. This is part of an informal agreement they struck when Mr. Putin promoted Mr. Medvedev to succeed him.

“Everything we had agreed upon at the start of our joint journey is being implemented and is working effectively,” Mr. Putin said in an interview earlier this year. On another occasion he revealed that the agreement also covered the next election scheduled for 2012.

“We will sit down, think it over and reach a joint decision [on who would run for President in 2012] because we are of the same blood and of the same political outlook,” he said.

A survey by the independent Levada Centre in September found that only13 per cent of Russians believe that Mr. Medvedev holds power, while 32 per cent said power was in Mr. Putin’s hands and 48 per cent said power was divided equally between the two. The large proportion of those who believe in equal power sharing is the result of a Kremlin-orchestrated media campaign rather than a reflection of reality. State-controlled TV broadcasts give roughly the same airtime to Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Putin on a daily basis, with news items about the President’s activities coming first and invariably followed by stories about the Prime Minister.

A recent Forbes magazine ranking of the world’s 67 most powerful people (one for every 100 million people on the planet) gave a more accurate picture of who is in charge in the Kremlin. The magazine placed Mr. Medvedev at No. 43, not only far below Mr. Putin, who ranked third, but even behind Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, Mr. Putin’s long-time ally and leader of the “siloviki” clan of security services strongmen.

Mr. Medvedev has sought to cast himself as a more liberal politician than his predecessor with his own forward-looking agenda. He has declared plans to fight Russia’s “endemic corruption,” which grew manifold during Mr. Putin’s presidency, reduce red tape and make the courts independent from executive pressure. He has set the goal of building a more democratic Russia with a genuine multiparty political system and a free press.

However, Mr. Medvedev’s record of the past 18 months shows he lacks the clout or will — or both — to implement his agenda. He has been rich on reformist rhetoric but poor on action on the ground. A Kremlin-drafted anti-corruption package approved by the Parliament last year contained too many loopholes and experts dismissed it as totally inadequate. In fact, corruption has increased since Mr. Medvedev took office last year. The average size of a bribe in the low levels of bureaucracy has more than tripled in one year from 8,000 roubles in 2008 to 27,000 roubles in 2009, according to the Interior Ministry.

A pledge to combat “legal nihilism”, massive disregard for the law, primarily by government officials, was a highlight of Mr. Medvedev’s election campaign. Seven months into his presidency, Mr. Medvedev reiterated his resolve to root out lawlessness in his first state-of-the-nation address. But corrupt law enforcers knew better than fear Mr. Medvedev’s warnings. Three weeks after the President delivered his maiden address Interior Ministry officers arrested a Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, after he presented evidence implicating them in a theft of more than 5 billion roubles from the Russian treasury. The lawyer was denied bail and medical aid despite deteriorating health and held in horrible conditions in a Moscow jail for almost a year without trial till he died in prison earlier this month. His colleagues called it a premeditated murder.

In his first state-of-the-nation address Mr. Medvedev also hit out at Russian bureaucracy that “meddles in the electoral process.” At a closed door meeting with the leaders of the ruling United Russia Party earlier this year he warned them against trying to rig elections. Six months later he received a slap in the face when regional elections held across Russia were blatantly falsified in favour of the Putin-led United Russia, which swept the vote. Public opinion surveys found that just 3 per cent of respondents believe the elections were fair and democratic. Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev denounced the vote as a “mockery of democracy.” Despite angry protests by the usually docile opposition, Mr. Medvedev refused to denounce the fraud and described the election as “orderly.” He did criticize the ruling party at its congress several weeks later, euphemistically referring to “bad political habits” and “democratic procedures mixed with administrative ones,” but failed to support changes in the electoral laws proposed by opposition leaders and experts to reduce vote rigging and encourage political competition.

In this year’s state-of-the-nation address Mr. Medvedev called for a sweeping technological modernisation of Russia, but offered no action plan. The President’s controversial proposals for banning incandescent bulbs in favour of ecologically hazardous energy-saving lamps and reducing the number of time zones in the country raised quite a few eyebrows.

A recent scandal with the sacking of Mr. Medvedev’s powerful media adviser Mikhail Lesin for “abuse of office” provided a revealing insight into the power balance in the Medvedev-Putin tandem. According to Kremlin sources, Mr. Lesin, a former information minister and long-time ally of Mr. Putin, lost his job for telling state-owned TV companies to do what he, not the President, told them to do.

Mr. Medvedev’s apparent indecisiveness has disappointed many in Russia who hoped he would become a reformist President.

“Medvedev is simply the more liberal side of Putin’s brain,” one analyst said. “The two rule together, and Putin rules both of them.”

“Medvedev’s last word on everything is Putin’s word,” another political commentator quipped. “Medvedev is a member of Putin’s team, not vice versa.”

In recent months Mr. Medvedev, however, has grown increasingly critical of Mr. Putin’s legacy and policies. He has railed against state-run corporations promoted by his predecessor and bemoaned “the primitive structure” of the Russia economy, its “humiliating dependence on raw materials” and “shamefully low competitiveness.”

Some experts deemed this signalled Mr. Medvedev’s attempt to emerge from Mr. Putin’s shadow. They said Mr. Medvedev still has two-and-a-half years of his presidential term to take the reins of power and the verdict is still out on who will lead Russia after 2012.Others, however, argue that there is no credible competition between the two, and Mr. Medvedev and Mr. Putin are merely addressing different audiences. While Mr. Medvedev is targeting the younger and wealthier West-oriented sections of the Russian society, as well as foreign audiences, Mr. Putin is addressing the more conservative, low-to-middle income middle age and senior people.

Be that as it may, under the current dispensation Mr. Medvedev does the talking and Mr. Putin does the doing. It may not be a bad idea therefore for New Delhi to modify the format of annual Indo-Russian summits and supplement the Singh-Medvedev summits with annual meetings between the Prime Ministers of the two countries. This will not only help intensify bilateral interaction at the top level, but also be in line with the division of responsibility for international contacts in the Medvedev-Putin duo. While Mr. Medvedev usually meets with Presidents of foreign countries, Mr. Putin interacts with Prime Ministers.

 

[RPK]

India, Russia To Foster Defence Cooperation

During the upcoming visit of the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Russia, a couple of major defence–related deals are to be finalized with Russia including a 10-year deal on weapons, aircraft and maintenance contracts estimated at around $5 billion. The first agreement will be on extending the Military Technical Cooperation for ten years from 2011 to 2020 and the second relates to After- Sales Product Support for Defence Equipment of Russian origin.

Although these two major agreements are expected to be inked during the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Russia, the crucial and highly anticipated deal for the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov may not be finalized in this visit.

Defence Ministry sources indicated that despite positive developments in the negotiations, the deal for the refurbishment of the aircraft carrier has not been finalized. The price negotiations for Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier have gone on for along time and no outcome has been reached.The Russians have demanded $2.9 billion, instead of $974 million, which was originally contracted. As for India, it has asked Russia to bring down the price to $2.1 billion.
While the price negotiations are being finalized, Russia has assured that the refitting of the aircraft carrier will not be stalled as per the contract. However, Russia will only speed up the refurbishment of the vessel once the final price tag has been laid on it.

Under the original $1.5 billion 2004 contract between Russia’s state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport and the Indian Navy, which included delivery of MiG-29K Fulcrum carrier-based fighters, the work on the aircraft carrier was to have been completed in 2008. However, Russia later claimed it had underestimated the scale and the cost of the modernization and asked for an additional $1.2 billion in 2007. After long-running delays and disputes, India offered to raise the refit costs for the aircraft carrier by up to $600 million in February 2008. Russia was not satisfied with the proposed amount and the issue of the additional funding remains unresolved. Talks on the additional funding agreement are currently underway and Russia has demanded a total of $2.9 billion.

Russia has pledged to finish the Admiral Gorshkov’s overhaul as soon as possible and deliver it to India in 2012 if the additional $1.2 billion funding is provided by India.

 

[rajkoumar]

Indo-Russian realtion need more boost from both side. they should come our the simple client and seller. they should economically support each other and give priority to each other. in technolagical transfer there should be joint venture in defense, space, telecommunication, medicin, industies. Russia should try to respect the delivary time. and try to be determine in price fixing.

 

[rajkoumar]

From the begining our best ally is RUSSIA more than aly good friend of india. supported all time India boldly. after tryussia we can trust Israel becouse both Inidia and Israel surrounded with problem and to be alert in all time both of them tring to be atonamie and stable power in their region.

 

[tarunraju]

No ties with others at Russia's cost: Manmohan

India's ties with other countries will "never be at the cost of time tested relationship with Russia", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday.


Making the opening remarks after meeting President Dmitry Medvedev, Manmohan Singh said: "Our relations with third countries will never be at the cost of time tested relationship with Russia."


He stressed that Indo-Russian relations have the potential to make an impact on key regional and global issues like economic revival, terrorism and climate change.


Medvedev said that the bilateral relationship had grown stronger and had positive impact on trade, which increased 8 per cent this year.


He said it will go up further. "We are doing a good job."


Manmohan Singh met Medvedev on Monday to ink the expanded civil nuclear deal and three defence pacts.


The umbrella agreement for expanding civil nuclear cooperation will give New Delhi the right to reprocess spent fuel, taking the pact "far beyond the 123 agreement" inked with the US, official sources said on Sunday.

Source

 

[vishal_lionheart]

why india dont invest in famous KH 31 missile?