“Russia’s cooperation with Pakistan will serve the long-term interests of India,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin, who arrived in New Delhi Wednesday for the annual India-Russia summit.
Responding to questions posed by Indian newspaper The Hindu, Putin said that the scope of the agreement signed last month, which was the first of its kind between Russia and Pakistan, is limited.
“Regarding Pakistan, we have held talks on Russia’s possible assistance aimed at improving the counter-terrorism and anti-drug operations. In my view, this kind of cooperation serves the long-term interests of all countries of the region, including India,” he said.
Brushing aside concerns that the cooperation would lead to a shift in India-Russia ties, or that India’s growing military closeness to the US was “transforming” bilateral ties, he replied, “If some transformations take place, it would be a completely different kind of transformation.”
“The high level of bilateral cooperation and trust allows us to start a gradual transition from the traditional producer-consumer model to joint development and production of advanced weapons systems,” he added, referring to the co-developed Brahmos missile as well as the fifth-generation fighter aircraft.