Russian Ambassador Admires Kalam's Fortitude

New Delhi, June 9 (UNI) President APJ Abdul Kalam's 40-minute sortie in a Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force yesterday has earned him wide acclaim -- and among those applauding is Russian Ambassador here Vyacheslav I Trubnikov.

In a congratulatory message to the President, Ambassador Trubnikov admired ''the courage and fortitude'' demonstrated by the 74-year-old Kalam who yesterday became the first Indian President to have undertaken ''such an extra-ordinary flight''.

Recalling Dr Kalam's underwater sojourn last February in INS Sindhurakshak, a Kilo-class submarine of the Indian Navy, Ambassador Trubnikov pointed out that both the sub and the Sukhoi-30MKI -- a state-of-art frontline jet -- were Russian designed and brainchild of Russian technology.

And these two events were evidence of the high level of trust in Soviet and Russian military equipment emanating from long-standing cooperation between the two countries, the Russian envoy noted.

Ambassador Trubnikov further observed that Dr Kalam -- the undisputed father of India's missile programme who breathed life into ballistic missiles like the Agni and Prithvi and is often referred to as the Missile Man of India -- and Russian Academician Gerbert Efremov -- designer of space technology and creator of the Proton rocket and Almaz space station -- had made ''an outstanding contribution'' to Indo-Russian cooperation.

''Today, we marvel at their joint invention -- the unique BrahMos missile....'' The Russian envoy also hoped that in the near future one would see new Indo-Russian joint projects going beyond military-technical cooperation and being source of pride for the coming generations in both countries.

UNI DG YA DS1650