The Indo-Russian friendship is not susceptible to momentary considerations and political conjunctures, but is based on the concurrence of deep-rooted national interests of the two nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
"At all the turns of history our people always preserved the sincere respect, warm feelings and gentle behaviour for each other," Putin said in a message at the inauguration of the Year of Russia in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Putin's message was handed over by Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov to his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh at the inaugural of the year-long festival.
"Relations between Russia and India go back more than one century, and throughout history our peoples have always retained their sincere respect, warm feelings and good relations with each other," he said.
"Our friendship is not based on momentary considerations and is not susceptible to political conjunctures. At its core lay a convergence of our deep-rooted national interests and mutual cultural and spiritual attraction," Putin said.
He pointed that the multi-faceted cooperation between Russia and India has reached a qualitatively new level of development and hosting each other's national years is a tangible proof of this.
"I am sincerely glad that in 2008 we are witnessing such a significant event in our bilateral relations, namely the Year of Russia in India. This ambitious friendship festival is a natural extension of our countries' policy to fully consolidate our strategic partnership," Putin said.