Russia hails 'privileged partnership' with India

Russia has described its bilateral ties with India as a "weighty" factor of global stability and security as Moscow underlined the need to deepen the "privileged strategic partnership".

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, in a New Year messages to his Indian counterpart Pratibha Patil said "the implementation of agreements (during December visit) will even more enrich bilateral friendly ties, which are a weighty factor of stability and security in Asia and the whole world".

He highly valued the "earnest and trustful" character of relations between Russia and India, people of which share traditional affection and take lively interest in the rich cultural heritage of each-other and strive for fruitful and multi-plane cooperation, the Kremlin said.

In a separate New Year message to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Medvedev specially noted the transition of Russian-Indian strategic partnership to the qualitatively new level of "privileged relations".

"Under the modern conditions of the formation of a new system of international relations, Russia and India, through their joint efforts have succeeded in the creation of a firm legal base and effective mechanisms for further expansion and deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation in various spheres," Medvedev wrote to Singh.

He fondly recalled his recent India visit during which "substantive and fruitful talks reaffirmed the great value of time-tested Russian-Indian friendship."

Greeting the Indian Prime Minister, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin expressed readiness to further develop bilateral cooperation.

"The friendly relations between Moscow and Delhi have achieved a new level of privileged strategic partnership. We are ready to further interact with our Indian colleagues in a constructive manner to activate the entire complex of bilateral relations," Putin wrote to Singh.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry has named President Medvedev's India visit on December 20-22 and elevation of the bilateral strategic partnership to the level of 'privileged strategic partnership' as one of the key achievements of the Russian diplomacy in 2010.