Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may hold talks during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that will be held on June 1-3. According to the Indian Embassy in Moscow, India will be represented as a guest country at the St. Petersburg Forum. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations, which were established on April 13, 1947, four months before the declaration of the Indian independence. During Vladimir Putin's visit to India last October, the Indian prime minister and the Russian president agreed to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the relationship throughout the year. Today, both Moscow and Delhi define their relations as a privileged strategic partnership.
A vice-president and senior researcher of the Observatory Research Foundation, Nandan Unnikrishnan, is convinced that the Indian-Russian relations bring stability to the international relations in general. "We are facing challenges that are not always the same for our countries, but terrorism is a threat to everyone. Now we are cooperating in Afghanistan - this is in the interests of both India and Russia. We are interested in maintaining stability not only in Afghanistan itself, but also in the whole Central Asian region. There are other players, with different interests and views, but I think it is important that Russia and India work together to win the support of others. Disagreements will not contribute to the well-being of our peoples’’.
A member of the Russian Council for International Affairs, member of the Directorate of The E.M. Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russia's ambassador to India in 2004-2009, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, is sure that the mutual understanding of such two large states and nations can determine a lot in the changing world: "We are united with India by the principle positions on the main problems of today and even the future of the universe, a new architecture and world order, defined in decades. What is the exceptional importance of this bilateral dialogue? This is a dialogue not only of the state leaders, official institutions, foreign affairs agencies, economic institutions and representatives of the business world, above all it is a dialogue of the public forces of the two countries. The internal processes neither in India, nor in Russia have not changed the essence of our bilateral relations. The significance of our dialogue is the essence, which makes up the core of our relations of a privileged strategic partnership. "
A director of the Observatory Research Foundation, Sanjay Joshi, believes that not many sovereign states can boast of the seven decades of friendship: "There are very important issues, on which Russia and India have always found common ground, regardless of what was happening in the world. The world around us is changing. This is the time, when the countries such as India and Russia need to get closer. We are the players, who will play their part in the changing world. There are many issues that unite and bring us together. These are the issues related to cybersecurity, space exploration and security. These are the key issues that will help bring India and Russia closer to each other.’’
