NEW DELHI: India has asked the Soviet Union to extend the Indo Soviet friendship treaty by another 20 years. The Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is expected to visit India this year when the extension will be formally announced.
The Indian proposal which had been a subject of controversy at home was made last week during the visit of the Soviet deputy foreign minister Igor Rogachev. It turns out Rogachev’s unplanned visit was the occasion for several important issues as well as putting the bilateral relations which were cooling off on a qualitatively different footing.
The new Soviet foreign minister is likely to visit soon to pick up where Rogachev left off. In the process concrete shape will be given to the tentative agreements reached already. These include Soviet arms supplies a re-evaluation of the Rupee-Rouble trade and permission to Indian businessman to repatriate profits from Russia.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 22, 1991
