Chris Doss The Russia Journal ------------------
Ivanov visit to revive Russia-India-China trilateral cooperation By P. Jayaram Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov will seek to revive the concept of trilateral cooperation between Russia, India and China during a day-long visit here Sunday, according to informed sources.
The concept was first mooted by former Russian prime minister Yevgeny Primakov who suggested a Russia-India-China "strategic triangle" during a visit here in 1999.
New Delhi and Beijing were both lukewarm to the idea at that time, fearing it would be viewed as a military bloc against the United States, the world's lone superpower.
Russia has indicated its keenness to revive the concept in the post-September 11 scenario and the war against terrorism in Afghanistan that has led to a U.S. military presence to the neighbourhood of Russia, India and China.
Now it goes by the new title of "trilateral cooperation" and will be high on Ivanov's agenda during his visit, during which he would hold talks with his counterpart Jaswant Singh and Defence Minister George Fernandes.
India, which has developed a vigorous relationship with the U.S. since 1999, says it is "open" to the Russian proposal.
"Our relations with Russia are excellent and are improving with China. We are open to suggestions about (trilateral) cooperation," a senior external affairs ministry official said Saturday. He said the initiative for Ivanov's visit had come from Moscow.
Sources in the ministry said the subject had been under discussion at the unofficial level among academics and think tanks in the three countries. It had also been "touched upon" during Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to India in January.
All three countries were concerned about terrorism and energy security, the sources said. India and Russia are planning to set up a group of officials to discuss energy security, while one such group already exists between Russia and China.
"We are not just looking at political and strategic issues but also at economic issues, including science and technology and bio-technology," the sources said.
Ivanov is carrying a message for Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from President Vladimir Putin. However, he would not however be calling on Vajpayee due to the prime minister's prior engagements.
Officials said India and Russia, which have "excellent relations," marked by similarity of views on most international issues, would also discuss a common stand on Afghanistan, the U.S. military presence in Central Asia - a matter of concern to Moscow - and India-Pakistan relations in the context of their current border tension.
Ivanov's visit would be back-to-back with that by another senior Russian leader, Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who arrives here on February 5 on a three-day visit to co-chair with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission (IRIGC) on cooperation in various fields, including trade.
Klebanov, who is also the co-chairman of the IRIGC on military-technical cooperation with Defence Minister George Fernandes, is expected to discuss a whole range of issues relating to defence cooperation and supplies, officials said.
Ivanov's visit comes close on the heels of a visit here by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and British Prime Minister Tony Blair last month.