Pacific Affairs: An International Review of Asia and the Pacific

Volume 76, No. 3

 

India and Russia: Reassessing the "Time Tested" Ties
By B.M. Jain

 

Abstract

This article examines some vitally important issues such as defence, strategic, scientific and technological and nuclear cooperation as well as Pakistan and China as factors, setting new trends, in Indo-Russian relations. It critically surveys how their "time-tested ties" in the 1970s and 1980s got a sudden jolt following the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991. New Delhi-Moscow relations have oscillated from a steep decline in the beginning of the 1990s through a new political and strategic understanding in the mid1990s to a mutually "productive" and "enduring" partnership during the Putin administration. This paper argues that since India and Russia have no direct conflict of interest, their bilateral ties are likely to attain greater heights, especially in the defence and strategic fields, than what they had even during the Indo-Soviet friendship era. Besides, their identical perceptions of and approaches to critical issues such as multipolar world order, counter-terrorism, and cooperation in nuclear technology are likely to further solidify their ties based on mutual trust. However, Putin's regime coupled with pragmatism and flexibility attuned to serving national interests, cannot be taken for granted by India. Without being led by euphoria, India and Russia will need to accommodate each other's concerns, compulsions and interests for a friendly and durable relationship.