Date:16/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/16/stories/2008051655211200.htm

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Medvedev to visit India this year

Vladimir Radyuhin

Pranab holds first high-level bilateral meeting after new President assumed office

“Russia ready for nuclear pact with India”
China for talks between armed forces

— PHOTO: AFP

WARM WELCOME: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) welcomes External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee before their talks in Yekaterinburg on Thursday.

YEKATERINBURG: Russia’s new President Dmitry Medvedev will visit India towards the end of this year to continue the tradition of annual bilateral summits established under his predecessor Vladimir Putin.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov conveyed this message to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee during their interaction on the sidelines of the Russia-India-China meet here on Thursday. It was the first high-level bilateral meeting after President Dmitry Medvedev assumed office last week.

Mr. Lavrov said he would visit India in the coming months to prepare for the summit. He also reiterated Russia’s readiness to sign a nuclear pact with India whenever New Delhi was ready. Mr. Mukherjee replied that India first had to reach an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, and said that he would be consulting government coalition partners on the issue later this month.

The Indian and Russian ministers had an “extremely positive” discussion, with an Indian official present at the meeting describing it as “the best vibration” between the two men so far.

Mr. Mukherjee’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jeichi, was also described as very warm. It stretched from the scheduled 15 minutes to a full hour. The Chinese Foreign Minister said relations between India and China were becoming “increasingly close.”

He welcomed the recent defence exchanges and said China was ready to further promote dialogue between the Armed Forces of the two countries.

Mr. Mukherjee hailed the booming Indo-Chinese trade, which is expected to top $40 billion this year, as “the central piece of strategic cooperation” between the two nations and called for prioritising trans-border commerce. He reiterated India’s offer of assistance to the victims of the quake in China.

Both ministers stressed the need for bilateral cooperation for peace in the region. Mr. Jeichi said China would continue cooperation with India in international forums, including the East Asia Summit, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, BRIC and the G8-outreach countries dialogue.