Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Rumyantsev, a former head of one of Russia's top nuclear labs, left no room for
confusion, and in a news conference, stated that cooperation with Iran on the
Bushehr nuclear power plant was strictly civilian and in keeping with
international commitments. Indeed, he indicated that the Russians were
considering a second reactor at Bushehr and vowed to catch up if work was
lagging behind schedule. Regarding India, Rumyantsev took the long view and
noted that 'India is our strategic partner. We want to ensure that there are no
reproaches (from the international community) in this regard'. 39 He stated that
Russia intends to build a nuclear power station in India despite international
concern.
Rumsyantsev's statements so far should put to rest any sentiment that the
replacement of Adamov would have negative repercussions for Indo-Russian
relations in the nuclear sector as initial analysis might have suggested. Indo-
Russian nuclear cooperation would seem to have support at the highest levels of
Russian leadership, at least for now. But it is no secret that India would prefer to
get nuclear assistance from France or even the US, and to that extent, India
might be betting that the bait of its deals with Russia might eventually draw in
the others. Moreover, India is not likely to forget Russia's backtracking on the
cryogenic engine technology contract in 1993 suggesting that it is not the most
reliable partner. 40 Thus while the stage is being set for a higher level of nuclear
cooperation, there is no guarantee that other interests and preferences will not
take precedence in the future for either India or Russia.
REGIONAL LEVEL: THE EURASIAN AND ASIAN
BALANCE OF POWER
While the global pulls and pushes for Indo-Russian relations remain mixed and
in flux (for Russia in particular), and the bilateral arena provides a somewhat
limited economics-driven basis, the national and strategic imperatives which are
emerging at the regional level are likely to prove the most influential in
determining the nature and direction of Indo-Russian ties.
America's renewed attention to Southwest Asia since September 11, 2001 has
essentially only hastened the day of reckoning with Islamic militancy-based
terrorism that several countries in the region have been confronting to varying
degrees. At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that the shared
terrorism/militancy threat is overlaid by over-the-horizon geopolitical
competition which may be submerged for the immediate term, but is highly
unlikely to disappear.
Unlike the global or bilateral levels, regional strategic interests hold much
greater clarity for both India and Russia. Territorial integrity itself is at stake for
these two states exemplified by the Kashmir and Chechnya conflicts, with an
important part of the problem perceived to be rooted in their worrisome
Search WWH ::




Custom Search