CURRENT RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY TOWARDS INDIA

1. Introduction:

Indo-Russian relations refer to bilateral relations between the Republic of India and the Russian
Federation. During the Cold War, India and the Soviet Union (USSR) enjoyed a strong strategic,
military, economic and diplomatic relationship. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia inher ited
the close relationship with India, even as India improved its relations with the West after the end
of the Cold War.

Traditionally, the Indo-Russian strategic partnership has been built on five major components:

Politics,
Defense,
Civil nuclear energy,
Anti-terrorism co-operation and
Space.

These five major components were highlighted in a speech given by former Indian Foreign
Secretary Ranjan Mathai in Russia (28th November, 2012). However, in recent years a sixth
component, economic, has grown in importance with both countries setting a target for US$30

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billion in bilateral trade by 2025. In order to facilitate this target both countries are looking to
develop a free trade agreement.

The powerful India Russia Intergovernmental Commission (IRIGC) is the main body that
conducts affairs at the governmental level between both countries. Both countries are members of
many international bodies where they jointly collaborate closely on matters of shared national
interest. Important examples include the UN, BRICS, G20 and SCO. Russia has stated publicly
that it supports India receiving a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. In
addition, Russia has expressed interest in joining SAARC with observer status in which India is a
founding member.1

India is the second largest market for the Russian defense industry. India has an embassy in
Moscow and two consulates-generals in Saint Petersburg and Vladivostok. Russia has an embassy
in New Delhi and four consulates-general in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai.

2. Historical Background:

When India got independence in 1947, the cold war had just begun between the two super powers
of that time i.e. USSR leading Communist block and USA leading Capitalist block. Both of the
countries emerged as super powers after the end of WWII and were then in state of rivalry because
of different ideologies.

Right after its independence, India adopted a Non- Alignment Policy and decided to remain
neutral during cold war but actually it started to seek close relationship with Moscow. A cordial
relationship with India that began in the 1950s represented the most successful of the Soviet
attempts to foster closer relations with Third World countries. The relationship began with a visit
by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the Soviet Union in June 1955 and Khrushchev's
return trip to India in the fall of 1955. While in India, Khrushchev announced that the Soviet Union
supported Indian sovereignty over the disputed territory of the Kashmir region.

1 The Evolution of Indias Bilateral Relations with Russia (Feb, 2011) by Ambassador Ranendra Sen (Retd.), ASPEN
Institute India.
http://www.anantaaspencentre.in/pdf/the_evolution.pdf

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 The Russian Ambassador, Kirill Novikov, arriving at New Delhi in December 1947 to establish formal diplomatic
relations with India.

The Russians have always stood by India whenever required. During the Indo-China war (1962),
the Soviets did not side with China. It was not easy for one communist state not to support the
other. In 1966, the USSR tried to intrude peace between India and Pakistan. During the Bangladesh
war, the USSR kept an eye on the United States Seventh Fleet and gave India moral support.

3. Current Foreign Policy of Russia toward India:

Indo-Russian relations are time-tested and based on continuity, trust and mutual understanding. It
is comprehensive and multifaceted and encompasses all areas including political, economic,
defense, scientific & technological and cultural spheres, based on shared perceptions and mutuality
of interests and mutual benefit. After the disintegration of USSR and the emergence of Russia as
an independent State, Russia declared itself to be "State-continuator" of the erstwhile USSR.
India recognized Russia as the successor-State to the former Soviet Union. Russian
leadership has described Russias relations with India as being special. Former President
Boris Yeltsin in his public references to India mentioned to continue traditionally friendly
relations and continuing cooperation with this great Asian country. Relations with Russia are
an important foreign policy priority for India too.

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The need for close relations with India has also been referred by President Vladimir Putin who has
stressed the geo-political significance of Indo-Russian relations. In the Foreign Policy concept
released by Russian Federation on July 10, 2000, has been stated that one of the crucial
directions in the Russian foreign policy in Asia is to maintain friendly relations with the
leading Asian states including India. 2

4. Political relations of Russia and India in Recent Times:

Relations with Russia are a key pillar of Indias foreign policy, and Russia has been a
longstanding time-tested partner of India, notes the official Indian brief on India-Russ ia
Relations. The Annual Summit meetings between the Prime Minister of India and the President
of the Russian Federation have ensured that these relations are maintained at their optimum
levels. These regular summits are invariably supplemented by many other meetings in the
interregnum between the two leaders during other multilateral events. In the recent past, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi visited Moscow in December 2015 for the 16 th bilateral summit and
President Putin was in Goa in October 2016 for the 17th Annual Summit. Besides the Annual
Summit meetings, the two have met on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Tashkent (Uzbekistan)
in June 2016. Further, the Indian and Russian Prime Ministers also met during the recent G-20
summit at Hangchow in September 2016. Notwithstanding such close and frequent high- le ve l
contacts, the time- tested links have indeed come under some strain - so perceived due to
the growing close relationship between India and the United States, and compounded by the
concurrent rift between Washington and Moscow. The increased procurement of defense
equipment from the West in general and the United States in particular has also not been
appreciated in Russia, the traditional source in the past. Recent Russian overtures to Pakistan, both
in terms of defense equipment sale as well as joint exercises between the militaries of the two
countries, has not been received well in New Delhi and is seen, by some, as a signal to India.
Russias new found bonhomie with China is also being noted in Indian strategic circles. This was
noted in a recent lead commentary in a national daily of India on the eve of the Goa Summit that

2Political and Strategic Dimensions of India-Russia Relations in Present Scenario (2013) by Surendra Singh.
http://elib.sfukras.ru/bitstream/handle/2311/9918/Surendra%20Singh.pdf;jsessionid=4F8BABE316481AE77ACA30
750C285624?sequence=1

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India is ready to renew its relationship with Russia in terms of defense cooperation and politica l
bonding. A total of 16 agreements in various sectors, including defense and civil nuclear
power, were concluded during the summit. While releasing the Joint Press Statement, Prime
Minister Modi said in a cryptic comment that:

An old friend is better than two new friends.

At the end of the Summit, Prime Minister Modi tweeted that:

Our close friendship has given clear direction, fresh impulse, stronger momentum and
rich content to our ties. 3

5. Defense Cooperation:

India-Russia cooperation is going on smoothly and steadily in various sectors. Cooperation in the
defense sector is still the strongest link. Even today around 50% of the defense equipment used by
the Indian defense forces is of Russian origin. India is cooperating with Russia on major defense
projects such as on indigenously developed nuclear submarine Arihant, the Fifth Generation
Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). Off late, Russia also participated in the formation of the first group of
Indian satellites for distant probing of the earth. The first launch of IRS series satellites was
conducted by Vostok rocket. Russia has also advanced a proposal for selling the advanced MiG-
35 fighter jet to the IAF. A $3.77 billion deal for the supply of 40 SU-30MKI Russian fighter
aircraft to India was also signed. The agreements included proposal for procuring around 10,000
Invar missiles, T-90 tanks and over 200 air-launched versions of the BrahMos supersonic cruise
missiles. Russia still remains Indias largest supplier of military equipment despite the entry of US
and Israel, which has apparently, also became major suppliers of military hardware to India.

In late December 2016, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first state visit to Russia
to take part in the 16th annual bilateral summit. Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin used
the summit to review bilateral ties across a number of areas, including security, trade, commerce,
science and technology, defense, and energy. Talking about the relationship, Modi described

3Strategic partnership with India priority in Russia's foreign policy: Putin (25 th January, 2017) by ANI.
http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/strategic-partnership-with-india-priority-in-russia-s-foreign-
policy-putin-117012501387_1.html

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Russia as a strong and reliable friend, while Putin expressed his happiness about developing
the privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia.

This rhetoric, along with the signing of sixteen agreements, is being seen as very significant in
sustaining and expanding India-Russia ties. One major step taken is a deepening of Indias defense
partnership with Russia. On the eve of Modis visit to Russia, the Indian government announced
the purchase of five S-400 supersonic air defense systems from Russia, costing around $6 billio n,
while Modi sealed some other important defense deals with Putin in Moscow.

The defence deals reached at the summit included:

The purchase of five S-400 missile systems (known as the Growler in NATO
nomenclature),
Joint production of Ka-226T (Kamov) helicopters, and
The acquisition and joint production of four state of the art Admiral Grigorovich-c lass
(Project 11356) guided-missile stealth frigates.

The Kamov helicopter deal is a key deal, being seen as a huge boost for the government's flagship
Make in India initiative. India will initially import and then manufacture Russian Kamov Ka-226
T light utility helicopters.

The two countries also agreed to conduct an annual military conference.

The Defence Minister-level India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission for Military Technica l

Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) met in New Delhi on October 26 to follow up on the significa nt
decisions in defence cooperation announced at the Goa bilateral Summit.

An important focus of discussions at IRIGC-MTC was on after-sales product support of Russian

platforms and equipment. A combination of approaches is now being implemented to address it
effectively, including long-term indents, life cycle contracts, collaboration in setting up workshops
in India and creating manufacturing capacities in India for spares, components and sub-assemblies.

India, a leading global importer of defence hardware, is currently undergoing a $100-billio n

upgrade of its mostly Soviet-era military equipment.

The Indian media reported in early-November that the Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC),
chaired by Defence Minister Parrikar, has approved acquisition by the Indian Army of 464 Russian

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T-90MS tanks, the latest version of the T-90, which is already being manufactured in India under
licence and with a progressive degree of indigenization. Valued at over US$ 2 billion and reported
to be the worlds largest tank contract in the last 15 years, it is to be implemented as a Make in
India project.4

These defense agreements are important for both countries. Indias defense ties with the erstwhile
Soviet Union and later with Russia were a major pillar of bilateral ties. However, in recent times
there has been deep strain in the relationship. Russian strategists and diplomats have made much
over the loss of some Indian defense deals to the U.S., Israel and other countries. On the other
hand, Russias failure to deliver the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov on time annoyed New Delhi
because it forced India to pay Russia $2.34 billion, against the originally agreed price of $947
million. Russias decision to supply Pakistan with the Mi-35 Hind attack helicopters and Klimov
RDP93 engines for the JF-17 has also alarmed the Indian defense establishment.

6. Whats wrong with Russia and India relationship these days?

With the international system in a state of flux, we are witnessing significant political changes
between nations. U.S.-China relations have come under great strain, as evidenced by their
adversarial stand with regard to the South China Sea. Russia is ceding space to China with regard
to East Asia. There seems to be a return to Cold Warlike dynamics between Russia and the United
States. It is being reported that Russia has placed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad,
which borders Poland and Lithuania. The missiles are capable of hitting targets as far away as
Berlin. Their differing positions with regard to the crisis in Syria and ISIS underline the tension
between the two.

To the surprise of many observers, India-Russia relations, which have stood the test of time, also
appear to have been affected by this trend, with Russia apparently upping its security ties with
Pakistan, Indias traditional rival. For many in India, Russias decision to go ahead with its
Druzhba (Friendship) 2016 military exercises with Pakistan immediately after the Uri terrorist
incident, and its reticence in fully backing India on terrorism emanating from Pakistan at the

4Russia-India relations in 2016: A review (28 December 2016) by Nilova Roy Chaudhury.
https://in.rbth.com/economics/cooperation/2016/12/28/russia -india-relations-in-2016-a-review_670298

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recently concluded eighth BRICS Summit in Goa, are seen as worrying developments. From the
perspective of a stakeholder in this bilateral relationship, the questions that come to ones mind
are: How worried should one be about these developments in India-Russia relations? Also, what
should be done to ensure that there is no fundamental realignment in the relations between the two
nations?

If one disregards the almost seventy-year history of relations between the two nations, it would
appear that the observation of Rajan Menon, a close follower of India-Russia relations, is being
proven wrong: The two countries have established substantial trust and understanding, a
convergent worldview, and a stake in preserving a relationship that few countries can claim to
have. A perusal of the bilateral relation will show that is all not particularly well. On the security
front, the Russians have been stepping up joint military exercises with Pakistan since 2014. The
two naval exercises, Arabian Monsoon 2014 and Arabian Monsoon 2015, were followed up by
Druzhba 2016, which was a two-week long military exercise conducted in Pakistans Khyber-
Pakhtunkhwa Province involving seventy Russian service personnel.

While the naval exercises had combating crime groups and drug trafficking as their objective,
Druzhba 2016 went a step further and had more conventional objectives, like training for combat
in mountainous areas and taking on armed groups. India made its dislike of these military exercises
known to Russia when Indias ambassador to Russia, Pankaj Saran, pointed out that militar y
cooperation with Pakistan which is a State that sponsors and practices terrorism as a matter of State
policy is a wrong approach and it will only create further problems. Parts of Druzhba 2016 were
to be held in the Gilgit-Baltistan province of Pakistan, an area India considers to be a part of Jammu
and Kashmir, illegally occupied by Pakistan. The spokesperson of Indias Ministry of External
Affairs, Vikas Swarup, told the press that India repeatedly brought up its concerns about the venue
of the exercise with Russia and that the said province was part of Indian territory. This led the
Russian embassy in New Delhi to issue a clarification that the military exercises would not be held
in any sensitive or problematic areas. The exercises were subsequently held in Pakistans
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province.5

5Is India Losing Russia? (October 27, 2016) by Nabarun Roy.

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/india -losing-russia-18208?

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Additionally, Russia has been selling military hardware to Pakistan. It is believed that the two
nations are in discussions regarding the possible sale of Russian Su-35 warplanes to Pakistan.
Pakistan also bought four Mi-35 helicopter gunships from Russia in 2015. The Hindustan Times
reports that over the last fifteen months, the army, navy and air force chiefs of Pakistan have visited
Russia to explore other such military deals. Given the fact that Pakistan is the worlds seventh-
largest importer of defense equipment, it could prove to be a lucrative market for Russian arms
manufacturers. This could have serious consequences for India-Russia relations.

7. Economic Relations between the two countries:

India and Russia have acquired a new self-confidence arising out of their rapid economic growth.
As rising economic powers, both India and Russia are playing an increasingly larger role on the
world stage.

In late December, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first state visit to Russia to take
part in the 16th annual bilateral summit. Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin used the
summit to review bilateral ties across a number of areas, including security, trade, commerce,
science and technology, defense, and energy. Talking about the relations hip,
Modi described Russia as a strong and reliable friend, while Putin expressed his happiness about
developing the privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia.6

6India Russia relationship: past present and future, Nivedeta Das Kundu, 14 June 2016
http://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/india-russia-relationship-past-present-future/

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Russias economy is struggling, a result of the economic sanctions imposed on it by the West over
its incursions into Ukraine, exacerbated by a sharp decline in oil prices and the costs of Moscows
military involvement in Syria. The Putin administration sees India one of the fastest growing
economies in the world as a country that could alleviate Russias economic problems. From Indias
point of view, its Make in India initiative would welcome Russian companies from the public and
private sectors. In fact, Russian firms have shown a willingness to invest in India in constructio n,
major infrastructure projects such as dedicated freight corridors and industrial clusters, smart
cities, and engineering services, sharing technologies and skills. At the same time, Indian
companies are exploring major investment options in Russia, especially in natural resources such
as coal, fertilizers, hydrocarbons, minerals, and rare earth metals.

To promote smoother and greater movement of businessmen, the two countries signed a protocol
on 24 December 2015 to simplify visa procedures for businessmen.

In December 2014, the leaders of the two countries set a target of US$30 billion bilateral trade by
2025. Bilateral trade during in 2015 amounted to US$ 7.83 billion (decline of 17.74% over 2015),
with Indian export amounting to US$ 2.26 billion and imports from Russia amounting to US$
5.57%. Major items of export from India include pharmaceuticals, tea, coffee and tobacco, nuclear
reactors &boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, organic chemicals, and electrical
machinery and equipment. Major items of import from Russia include pearls, precious and semi-
precious stones & metals, nuclear power equipment, electrical machinery and equipment, minera l
oil & products, iron &steels, and optical, precision and surgical equipment. 7

Economic deals:

In May 2014, ONGC and Rosneft signed an MoU for bilateral cooperation in subsurface
surveys, exploration, appraisal and hydrocarbons production in the offshore Arctic region
of Russia.
In June 2014, Russian company Gazprom International signed an MoU with Oil India
Limited for cooperation in the oil and gas sector which include joint exploration, training,
development of oil fields and sharing of information.

7Bilateral relations: India Russia Relations, 3 rd May 2017

http://indianembassy.ru/index.php/bilateral-relations/bilateral-relations-india-russia

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 In December 2015, Tata Power signed an agreement with the Russian Ministry of Far East
Development for investment projects in energy sector in the region; Indian and Russian
railways also signed agreement on high speed rails in India and modernization of railways.

India and Russia have also been trying to engage each other to boost-up the economic partnership
through Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Today Russia is a WTO
member and it also has formed Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan to a Common
Economic Space. Therefore, it is expected that CEPA with the broader Eurasian region might
come-up soon. It is expected that Russia will also invest in the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor
(DMIC) project. This project covers an area of about 400,000 sq.km and six states with a
population of 178 million. This project incorporates nine mega industrial zones.

Russias preference for multipolarity and encouragement for the promotion of groupings like RIC
(Russia-India-China), BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa), as well as SCO
(Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) is intended to create a forum outside the Western block
where India and Russia along with other countries can discuss issues without western pressure.

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on
developing smart cities, transport logistics, shipbuilding and railways in Andhra Pradesh, and
cooperation in oil and gas among others.8

8. Nuclear Power Cooperation:

Russia is the only country in recent decades which has assisted Indias civilian nuclear power
program. Hence Indias nuclear power cooperation agreement with Russia is different from the
series of civil nuclear power agreements New Delhi has signed with many countries, most recently
with Japan.

Russia is the only country in the last four decades to have actively assisted India in its nuclear
power generation program, but India and Russia do not have a conventional civil nuclear power
agreement along the lines of what India signed with the United States, France, Canada, Britain,

8 RussiaIndia Relation in 2016: A Review, Nilova Roy Chaudary, 28 December 2017

https://in.rbth.com/economics/cooperation/2016/12/28/russia-india-relations-in-2016-a-review_670298

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Australia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and most recently Japan. All of these have termination clauses,
if India should test a nuclear weapon.

India and Russia have never had to sign a conventional civil nuclear power agreement because
Russia has never sought to put limits or curbs on Indias nuclear ambitions, peaceful or
otherwise, said Nandan Unnikrishnan, Vice President at the Observer Research Foundation, a
leading think tank.9 Russia is a signatory to the NPT (Non-proliferation Treaty) and the NSG
(Nuclear Suppliers Group) and other regulatory regimes, but it has never sought to curb Indian
aspirations, Unnikrishnan told RIR. It has never been part of a punitive regime against India,
and did not sanction India, even after it tested in 1998.

When acute uranium shortages hit the operations of Indian nuclear power generation plants, after
the 1998 nuclear tests, particularly, and India faced sanctions, Russia found ways to deliver the
critical element and ensured Indian power plants could generate electricity.

Russia has helped India when no country supported India. It is due to mutual trust that India has
asked Russia to construct over a dozen nuclear reactors. Kudankulam nuclear power plant which
is being built with Russian cooperation is one of the most advanced one.

Nuclear deals:

Transfer of nuclear power reactors.

Fuel supply agreement for both supplied reactors and other reactors operating in India,
including both natural uranium and enriched uranium.
Right to process spent fuel.
Fuel supply assurance under all circumstances.
In principle, agreement to transfer reprocessing technology and enriched technology.

The cooperation in this sector depends much on the manner in which both the Nations conduct
their bilateral diplomacy. The two sides welcomed progress in identifying the sites in India for
additional nuclear reactor units to be set up in cooperation with Russia. Both the sides agreed to
actively work towards localisation of manufacturing in India under the Make in India, missio n

9 India has different nuclear power equation with Russia, Nilova Roy Chaudary, 15 th November 2016
https://in.rbth.com/economics/cooperation/2016/11/15/india -has-different-nuclear-power-equation-with-
russia_647857

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and in continuation with the series of construction of nuclear power plants. It appears that potential
sites have been offered in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. It is learnt that President Putin
has plans to sell as many as 25 nuclear reactors to India through Russia's state-owned energy giant,
Rosatom. The pace of both the countries cooperation in nuclear energy is increasing. At present,
both the countries are progressing on fulfilling the plans for 12 Russian nuclear reactors at two
sites. The recent agreement will increase Indian manufacturing content in these reactors. Unit- II
of the Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu, will be commissioned soon and the negotiations are at an
advanced staged for units III and IV. Both the sides welcomed the action for localization between
RosAtom of Russia and the Department of Atomic Energy of India.

Then Russian President Medvedev made it clear that Russia would not accept any foreign- imposed
restrictions on its nuclear cooperation with India. The Russian atomic energy head also said the
issue of nuclear technology restrictions had never come up in Russias cooperation with India.
We do not have and never had this problem with India. This is an issue between India and the
U.S., so let them sort it out, Russian nuclear energy Rosatom head Sergei Kirienko had said after
the 2009 summit.

9. Scientific and Technical Cooperation:

The inroads being made by Russia and India in their scientific and technological cooperation are
already significant. IRIGC-TEC, the Integrated Long Term Program (ILTP) and the Basic Science
Cooperation Program are the three main institutional mechanisms for bilateral Science and
Technology cooperation, while the Science Academies of the two countries promote inter -
academy exchanges.

ILTP during its 25-year long implementation period, supported over 500 joint R&D projects and
setting up of 9 thematic centers in India and Russia that resulted in generation of over 1500 joint
publications and many new products, processes, facilities, and research centers besides developing
over 10,000 scientific contacts. India-Russia Science and Technology Centre with a branch each
in Delhi-NCR and Moscow was set up in 2011-12 in order to promote two-way transfer of
technologies and their commercialization.

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Two new Program of Cooperation in the field of Science, Technology and Innovation and in
Biotechnology concluded in October 2013 have become active mechanisms ; these have already
supported first batch of 11 joint R&D projects in 2014. In December 2014, Indian Council of
Medical Research and Russian Foundation of Basic Research entered into an MoU for cooperation
in health research. On 8 May 2015, Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Russian
Science Foundation signed an agreement to support basic and exploratory research. During the
16th Annual Summit, C-DAC, IISc (Bangalore) and Moscow State University signed an
agreement on cooperation in high performance computing.10

10. Cultural Cooperation:

There is a strong tradition of Indian studies in Russia. Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre at the
Embassy of India, Moscow (JNCC) maintains close cooperation with leading Russian institutio ns,
including the Institute of Philosophy (Moscow), Russian State University for Humanities
(Moscow), Institute of Oriental Studies (Moscow), Institute of Asian and African Studies at the
Moscow State University, School of International Relations at the St. Petersburg Univers ity,
Institute of Oriental Manuscripts.

About 20 Russian Institutions, including leading universities and schools, regularly teach Hindi to
1500 Russian students. Apart from Hindi, languages such as Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali,
Urdu, Sanskrit and Pali are taught in Russian Institutions. There is general interest among Russian
people in Indian dance, music, yoga and Ayurveda. JNCC conducts classes in yoga, dance, music
and Hindi for approximately 500 students every month.

There are regular cultural initiatives to promote people-to-people contacts between India and
Russia, including reciprocal Years of each others culture. The President of India inaugurated the
Year of Indian Culture Namaste Russia in Moscow on 10 May 2015. About 15 performances in
8 cities were held as part of Namaste Russia across various parts of Russia over 2015. The
Embassy with support from regional governments organized week-long celebrations marking the

10 Re-energizing the India-Russia Relationship, Katherine Foshko, 3 rd September 2011.

http://www.gatewayhouse.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/3.-India-Russia-Paper-PDF_no-crops.pdf

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second International Day of Yoga (IDY) covering 70 regions spanning 11 time zones and
involving over 50,000 Yoga enthusiasts. 11

11. Conclusion:

Keeping all of the above discussed facts in view, we can see that it is clear that India-Russ ia
relations remain vital for both countries amid a changing regional and global security environme nt.
While Modis visit has set in motion the process of strengthening bilateral ties, more will need to
be done if the relationship is to play the role both countries clearly expect. Relations between
Moscow and Delhi have long been taken for granted by policymakers on both sides. It is now time
to take active steps to ensure the partnership does not follow a downward path.

The cooperation between Moscow and Delhi right now lacks the kind of high- level support that is
present in the Sino-Russian relationship. What might be discussed as a potential way out is a
possibility to form an Indo-Russian foundation to explore the potential and bring it to a strategic
level. The question of the Delhi-Moscow relationship can no longer be taken for granted.

To avoid the risk that the partnership might turn into an orphaned one, leadership on both sides
should take active action, for example, by creating a platform to discuss the strategy of Russia -
India cooperation in the future.

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Bilateral Relations: India-Russia Relations, 3rd May 2017.
http://indianembassy.ru/index.php/bilateral-relations/bilateral-relations-india-russia

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