NEW DELHI: Taking a cue from his predecessors, Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda is scheduled to visit Moscow before Washington in the second week of September to inaugurate the Festival of India “The Days of Indian Culture “in the Russian capital. Mr. Yeltsin, in his felicitation message to Mr. Gowda, had extended him the invitation to visit Moscow. According to sources in the Russian embassy, Mr. Gowda has “in principle agreed to visit Moscow in the second week of However, the Ministry of External Affairs neither denied nor confirmed the Prime Minister’s visit. Russian embassy sources also indicated that External Affairs Minister I.K. Gujral would pay a visit to Moscow in August to prepare for Mr. Gowda’s visit later. The Prime Minister’s itinerary is likely to include a meeting with new presidential Security Council chief Alexander Lebed, who has emerged as a major power center in Russia, especially after Mr. Yeltsin’s recent victory for a second presidential term on Mr. Gowda from his Left allies to meet Russian Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, who lost to President Yeltsin in the runoff elections.
It may be mentioned that before India’s general elections, Russian Foreign Minister Yeygeny Primakov had paid a visit to New Delhi, which was the first by a Russian Foreign Minister in five years. Due to elections in both the countries in quick succession, several major agreements between the two countries are pending for clearance.
India has already undertaken technical evaluation of the multirole Su30 combat aircrafts. Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav has categorically stated that the “Bofors syndrome will not deter” his Ministry to conclude major armament agreements. India is also negotiating with Russia for the acquisition of an aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkoy, which is to replace the ageing INS Vikrant, scheduled to be decommissioned from the Indian Navy next year. Further, the Indian side is worried about the latest Russian policy of nondiscriminatory arms sale which, among others, includes the $37 million deal with Pakistan for the sale of 12 MI17 helicopters.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 17, 1996
