Moscow asks Delhi to prove its NMD stand

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, JUNE 2. Even though Mr. Jaswant Singh is coming to Russia on Sunday primarily in his capacity of Defence Minister to co- chair the first session of the Indo-Russian Commission on Military-Technical cooperation, Moscow is looking forward to having important discussions with him in his other capacity as External Affairs Minister on global security in the context the U.S. intention to build a National Missile Defence (NMD).

India's positive reaction to the U.S. plan came as a shock to Moscow, which had ranked New Delhi among its allies in opposing the NMD. The Russian Foreign Minister, Mr. Igor Ivanov - who happened to be in Delhi a day after the Ministry issued its statement on Mr. George Bush's speech on NMD - could not think of anything better than deny any differences in the Russian and Indian positions on the issue.

Now Moscow is ready for more substantive talks. On the eve of Mr. Singh's arrival in Moscow, Mr. Ivanov suggested engaging India in the unfolding consultations with the U.S. on global security.

``We must conduct a dialogue with the U.S., China and India to find a common response to the new threats in the 21st century,'' Mr. Ivanov was quoted as saying in Minsk, Belarus, where he went for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States. ``We should neutralise these threats, but not at the cost of security and international stability.'' By inviting New Delhi to sit at the table with nuclear powers Moscow implicitly recognises India's nuclear status. It is an invitation Mr. Singh can hardly refuse. But it also a challenge to New Delhi to defend its view that the NMD may be a good thing.

As a matter of fact Moscow is telling New Delhi: You say NMD can make the world safer; fine, come and show us how it can be made. It is one thing to hail Mr. Bush's plan as renunciation of the Cold War nuclear deterrence through a ``balance of terror'' but it is something very different to try and build a new security arrangement on its basis without provoking a new arms race.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : International
Previous : Clinton takes credit for Kargil withdrawal