Indo-Russian military ties will bring peace to Asia, Pacific

Closer military ties between India and Russia will help maintain the balance of power in Asia and Pacific, Russian media reports say.

''Rather than tipping off the balance in the region, bilateral co-operation between New Delhi and Moscow in the defence sphere, on the contrary, will help keep it intact,'' said the Russian Interfax news agency after Defence Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and his counterpart General Igor Sergeyev held wide-ranging talks in Moscow.

Mulayam Singh, together with Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, were in the Russian capital for a five-day official visit.

Back in New Delhi, Mulayam Singh, too, expressed similar sentiments. He said both Russia and India had identical views on Central and South East Asian issues.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin's adviser on international affairs Sergei Prikhodko put Indo-Russian ties in perspective when he assessed these as 'friendly and frank'.

''The relation covers a broad range of spheres, including economics, sciences, culture and trade in arms and related services,'' he said.

The Voice of Russia, while noting that Mulayam Singh and Sergeyev discussed problems of bilateral military-technical co-operation and touched upon the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, said: 'This wide-range of questions discussed is not by chance.''

''In Russia the relations with India are highly valued,'' Krasnaya Zvezda said, "General Sergeyev noted it was not mere coincidence that Mulayam Singh's visit took place in the 50th year of India's Independence, which is also the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries."

Itar-Tass, the largest Russian international news agency, quoted Mulayam Singh as saying ''the result of the negotiations will not only allow us to increase co-operation in the defence field, but also enable interaction in economic, scientific, technical and cultural fields.''

UNI