India-Russia ties a model

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ties between India and Russia, which have set a model for nations, will continue successfully in the 21st century also, Shashi Tharoor MP said on Wednesday. He was inaugurating a seminar on ‘Indo-Russian Ties in the 21st Century’ organised by the Russian Cultural Centre and the V K Krishna Menon Centre for International Relations. ‘’India and Russia are strategic partners.Although India’s foreign policy is founded on non-alignment, Russia enjoyed a high position in the Indian policy. The Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Co-operation is the cornerstone of the diplomatic relations between India and Russia. India’s victory in the war with Pakistan had the strategic backing of this treaty,’’ Tharoor said. It was the Soviet Union that came forward to help India when the US and other nations showed reluctance in helping Indian industry. The cooperation in the defence sector has gone beyond trade and has expanded to joint development of armaments and aircraft. Both India’s and Russia’s role in BRICS - the forum of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - was important, he said. The relations between the people of India and Russia also have helped cement ties between the two nations, Tharoor said. Former diplomat M K Bhadrakumar said that Indo-Russian ties help to take forward the idea of a multi-polar world. Russia’s honorary consul in Thiruvananthapuram Ratheesh C Nair, Kerala University political science department head Prof Shaji Varkey and prof C A Josekutty also spoke.