Russia sees India as a super power in coming years: Ambassador Kadakin

Ranikhet (Uttarakhand), Oct 24 (ANI): Russia's Ambassador to India, Alexander M Kadakin, has said his country sees India as a super power in the coming years.

"Our cooperation with India is diverse and deep rooted. There is position and functional relationship between the two sides. Russia sees India as a super power in the coming years," Ambassador Kadakin told media persons here after the joint Indo-Russia military drill.

This exercise shows the trust and confidentiality that the two sides have in fighting international terrorism. We also suffer from those, who bring harm to India. They also bring harm to Russia," he added.

Commenting on the situation prevailing in Afghanistan, Ambassador Kadakin said Russia wants India's role in that region to increase.

"We want that India's role with regard to Afghanistan should increase. We want Afghanistan to be a peaceful country and not a source of terrorism. We are against smuggling and drug trafficking," he added.

Talking about the delay in the handing over of the Gorshkov aircraft known as Vikramditya in India, Ambassador Kadakin said: "We are not in a hurry. If somebody wants a good commodity, he should wait patiently."

Under a contract signed in January 2004, Russia's Rosoboronexport was to deliver the 44,570-tonne aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, to India in 2008.About future joint operations against terrorism jointly by the Indian and Russian troops, Ambassador Kadakin said: "The two countries have been fighting against global terrorism. We are not just friends, but allies too. India and Russia know well about it (terrorism), not from a bird's eye view, but as nations that have faced it practically on the ground. So we consider this exercise very significant."

Kadakin said: "During the talks between Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and his Indian counterpart A K Antony during his visit to New Delhi this joint army drill was highlighted as an example of growing military-to-military relations between the two countries," he added, while giving emphasis on the importance of the joint exercise.

Eyeing upon demonstrating their resolve to fight against terrorism and to further boost defence cooperation, strike infantry units of the Indian and Russian Armies culminated a joint military exercise named Ex INDRA-10 in the Kumaon hills here on Saturday.

Over 400 troops from the two sides took part in this joint military drill and were divided into two groups. One group consisted of two Indian Army units in addition to one Russian army unit and vice versa.

The exercise was conducted in three phases to improve the interoperability and imbibe lessons at small team levels, levels at which success is imperative to combat terrorism.

During the culmination phase on the last two days a realistic stimulated joint operational exercise was conducted involving surveillance, acquiring and assessing of intelligence, joint planning, multi-directional induction of forces in small teams maintaining stealth, regrouping into joint task forces and joint teams, followed by a series of counter-terrorist operations.

The exercise conducted on Saturday was the third in the series of Army level exercises between the two nations, the previous joint exercises being EX INDRA-05 in Agra and EX-INDRA-07 in Pskov in Russia. By Amit Shankar (ANI)