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Russia-Pak tango gives India jitters
Delhi Alarmed Over Moscows Arms Supply Promises To Islamabad
Indrani Bagchi | TNN
New Delhi: A new and improved relationship between Russia and Pakistan has raised concerns in India that a certain cosying up might have security implications for India.
In Trieste over the weekend, on the sidelines of the G-8 foreign ministers meeting, a Russia-Afghanistan-Pakistan trilateral took shape to tackle terrorism, narcotics, strategic stability and regional cooperation. In Moscow, Russian and Pakistani officials met over the past couple of days to work on what they called strategic cooperation. In fact, the foreign ministers meeting took off from a trilateral summit level meeting in Moscow between Asif Zardai, Andrei Medvedev and Hamid Karzai after the SCO summit in June.
Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf s visit to Moscow in mid-June was apparently facilitated by a private businessman but India realised soon that Musharraf was informally preparing the way for the visit of Pakistan army chief Ashfaque Kayani who undertook a standalone Russia trip last week. Musharraf, who remains very much a part of Pakistans military establishment, reportedly had very productive meetings with Russian PM Vladimir Putin. The upshot of those meetings seems to be that Russia is willing to take another look at a defence relationship with Pakistan.
Nandan Unnikrishnan, Russia expert at the Observer Research Foundation, said the truth wasnt so simple. The Russians feel they need to open a channel with Pakistan. Their concern is driven by the situation in Afghanistan and its impact on Central Asia and the southern Caucasus. There could be a chance that China is pushing them in this direction. It will be driven by the situation in Afghanistan, he said.
During the SCO summit in Yekaterinburg, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had declared that nests of terror in Pakistan had to be eliminated first. For that, Russia would give all help to Pakistan. Now Russia will even allow transit of NATO military cargo through its territory for use in Afghanistan, an indication of how serious they believe the situation to be.
Indias concern is that Russia could be on the verge of an arms supply relationship with Pakistan. Of all of Indias military suppliers, Russia had, maintained a largely monogamous relationship with India, specially vis-a-vis Pakistan. In fact, Indian officials have reported that Putin feels there could be a commercial defence relationship with Pakistan. Russias other big client is China, and right now, China is also in the business of helping out Pakistan against the Taliban.
Bush-yr highs in ties to stay: US
Security, defence, civil nuclear cooperation and space will drive India-US ties in the future. At a time when analysts are predicting a dip in the relationship after the high of the Bush years, a senior US official set out a roadmap for the two countries, which will be fleshed out by Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, during her visit later this month. Talking to the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, US assistant secretary of state for South Asia Robert Blake said given the unprecedented cooperation after 26/11, terrorfinancing, law enforcement, training and information sharing will be part of the new relationship. In recent months, the director of the FBI, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and national security advisor Jim Jones all visited India to underline and strengthen that cooperation, Blake said. Clintons visit, he said, would raise the curtains to India-US 3.0 and answer critics who say ties have diminished. TNN
Delhi Alarmed Over Moscows Arms Supply Promises To Islamabad
Indrani Bagchi | TNN
New Delhi: A new and improved relationship between Russia and Pakistan has raised concerns in India that a certain cosying up might have security implications for India.
In Trieste over the weekend, on the sidelines of the G-8 foreign ministers meeting, a Russia-Afghanistan-Pakistan trilateral took shape to tackle terrorism, narcotics, strategic stability and regional cooperation. In Moscow, Russian and Pakistani officials met over the past couple of days to work on what they called strategic cooperation. In fact, the foreign ministers meeting took off from a trilateral summit level meeting in Moscow between Asif Zardai, Andrei Medvedev and Hamid Karzai after the SCO summit in June.
Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf s visit to Moscow in mid-June was apparently facilitated by a private businessman but India realised soon that Musharraf was informally preparing the way for the visit of Pakistan army chief Ashfaque Kayani who undertook a standalone Russia trip last week. Musharraf, who remains very much a part of Pakistans military establishment, reportedly had very productive meetings with Russian PM Vladimir Putin. The upshot of those meetings seems to be that Russia is willing to take another look at a defence relationship with Pakistan.
Nandan Unnikrishnan, Russia expert at the Observer Research Foundation, said the truth wasnt so simple. The Russians feel they need to open a channel with Pakistan. Their concern is driven by the situation in Afghanistan and its impact on Central Asia and the southern Caucasus. There could be a chance that China is pushing them in this direction. It will be driven by the situation in Afghanistan, he said.
During the SCO summit in Yekaterinburg, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had declared that nests of terror in Pakistan had to be eliminated first. For that, Russia would give all help to Pakistan. Now Russia will even allow transit of NATO military cargo through its territory for use in Afghanistan, an indication of how serious they believe the situation to be.
Indias concern is that Russia could be on the verge of an arms supply relationship with Pakistan. Of all of Indias military suppliers, Russia had, maintained a largely monogamous relationship with India, specially vis-a-vis Pakistan. In fact, Indian officials have reported that Putin feels there could be a commercial defence relationship with Pakistan. Russias other big client is China, and right now, China is also in the business of helping out Pakistan against the Taliban.
Bush-yr highs in ties to stay: US
Security, defence, civil nuclear cooperation and space will drive India-US ties in the future. At a time when analysts are predicting a dip in the relationship after the high of the Bush years, a senior US official set out a roadmap for the two countries, which will be fleshed out by Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, during her visit later this month. Talking to the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, US assistant secretary of state for South Asia Robert Blake said given the unprecedented cooperation after 26/11, terrorfinancing, law enforcement, training and information sharing will be part of the new relationship. In recent months, the director of the FBI, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and national security advisor Jim Jones all visited India to underline and strengthen that cooperation, Blake said. Clintons visit, he said, would raise the curtains to India-US 3.0 and answer critics who say ties have diminished. TNN
